96-year-old Holocaust survivor, Magda Baratz, passes away two weeks after her great-grandson Asaf Cafri fell in Gaza.
Magda Baratz, a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor, passed away last Friday – two weeks after her great-grandson, Master Sergeant (res.) Asaf Cafri, fell in battle in Gaza.
She is survived by three children, ten grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren.
About two weeks ago, Baratz traveled to Germany with her grandson, Haggai Kafri – Asaf’s father – to participate in the memorial ceremony for Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day held at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
The family received the news of Asaf’s death shortly after landing in Germany.
Ehud Baratz, Magda’s son, told Ynet today: “Our Mom really faded after returning from Germany, where she went as the guest of honor to the 80th anniversary ceremony to liberate Bergen-Belsen. She returned there with family members from three generations. For her, it was coming full circle to return with her family to the camp where she survived. She also survived Auschwitz and was part of the death march in the snow to Bergen-Belsen.
During her visit there on Holocaust Remembrance Day, she truly thrived, she spoke in German, and even shared personal stories with the tour guide.”
He also said that, “She was very attached to Asaf, her eldest great-grandchild. His death affected her deeply. She said it was very painful. She was very proud of him. She worked as an assistant to a kindergarten teacher and then helped our father in his engraving studio. She had a lot of patience, she raised us in Bat Yam during the early years of the country, when times were tough, but she made sure we got a good education. From an early age, she told us stories of the Holocaust and her journey of survival.”
