80 years since the surrender of the Reich and the liberation of the world from Nazi Germany. ‘Humanity was saved through unity.’
At a special event held at the Israeli Knesset titled, “The Journey of His Life – From Buchenwald to Jerusalem,” Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau delivered an emotional testimony of his miraculous survival before ministers, members of Knesset, soldiers from the Netzach Yehuda battalion, and family members.
“The defeat of the Nazis was possible only because the entire world stood united against them,” Rabbi Lau said. “Alongside our gratitude to the Creator, we must thank His emissaries — notably the Soviet Union, which sacrificed more than all, including around a quarter of a million Jews who fought in the Red Army. We owe thanks also to Britain, the United States, and all those who opposed Nazism.”
In a moving recollection, Rabbi Lau shared: “A Nazi officer grabbed me by the collar and tossed me like a sack several meters toward train cars designated for women and children en route to the death camps. During the night, my brother Naftali crawled through seven train cars until he found me. Together, we crept into the ‘adults’ car — those still considered ‘productive.’ When we reunited, we burst into tears and embraced.”
Rabbi Lau reiterated, “Humanity was saved through unity. The Jewish people are forever grateful. And even today, such unity is necessary — only then can we defeat our enemies.”
The event was initiated by several Knesset members, including Chair of the National Security Committee MK Boaz Bismuth; Chair of the Education Committee MK Yosef Taieb; MK Avi Maoz; Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Yevgeny Sova; and UTJ faction chair MK Yitzhak Pindrus. Government representatives in attendance included Minister of Health Uriel Busso; Deputy Transport Minister Uri Maklev; Deputy Agriculture Minister Moshe Abutbul; and MKs from across the political spectrum — including MK Avichai Boaron, MK Avraham Betzalel, Health Committee Chair MK Yoni Mashriki, MK Ariel Kallner, and MK Tzvi Succot; Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lau and his family; dozens of officers and soldiers from Netzach Yehuda; guests; Knesset employees; and other dignitaries.
Cantor Avi Miller led a prayer for the safety of IDF soldiers and the return of the hostages.
Opening the event, MK Yosef Taieb said: “We are here today to remember and remind. Eighty years ago, the most brutal evil in human history was defeated — one that struck the Jewish people hardest of all. Although Nazism may have been vanquished, its ideology reappears in different forms even today. Time and again, we are shocked that Jews fear wearing a kippah in public. I know this from France. Some countries still glorify Nazi criminals. The murderous Hamas attack on Simchat Torah reminds us of our darkest chapters.”
He noted that Israel has repeatedly protested the honoring of Nazi criminals in Ukraine and Baltic countries, where legal cases were erased and streets and squares were named after such individuals.
Taieb continued: “Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau’s life story and miraculous rescue personify the unity of the Jewish people and the broader international unity against evil. The rabbi we all revere was saved at age 8 from a death camp by a Russian soldier. The camp itself was liberated by American troops. Even today, we need international unity to eradicate all forms of hatred.”
“I’ll tell you something personal,” Taieb added. “The Russian soldier who saved the rabbi — Fyodor Mikhailichenko — remained in contact with him until the end of his life. Rebbetzin Chaya Ita Lau still hosts his daughters when they visit Israel. This is an opportunity to express our appreciation to Rabbi Lau, Israel Prize laureate, for his work at Yad Vashem and for initiating the commemoration of ‘Liberation and Rescue Day’ on the Hebrew date as well — marked with prayer and thanksgiving at the Western Wall, a project led by Jewish philanthropist Gabriel German Zakharyayev alongside the Knesset’s official May 9 observance. Most importantly, we thank him for who he is. May God grant him many more good years.”
Fighting back tears during his speech, Rabbi Lau recounted his harrowing journey through the Holocaust — from Piotrków to liberation at Buchenwald.
“Years ago in London, a Jew approached me and introduced himself as Mordechai Motl Kaminsky. To my surprise, he told me he had come to ask forgiveness.
‘When we were hiding in the attic in Piotrków, I saw an apple in a bag your mother was holding. I was starving to the bone. I took the apple and took a bite. Just then, we heard the stomping of boots and barking of dogs. I couldn’t swallow, and I don’t recall what happened to the apple — but for decades, I’ve been tormented and I came to ask your forgiveness.’”
Rabbi Lau then described his liberation, relating that he was hiding among a pile of Jewish corpses shot while running toward the camp gates during a firefight between German and American troops.
“I owe my life in the camp to the Russian soldier Fyodor Mikhailichenko,” he said. “I tried to find him while he was still alive but was unsuccessful. I hosted his family in Israel and ensured his name was recorded for eternity at Yad Vashem on the Righteous Among the Nations wall. I will also never forget the conversation I had with American Army Chaplain Rabbi Herschel Schacter. When he asked me my age, I told him: ’I’m older than you. I see you crying and laughing like a child — I haven’t cried or laughed in years.’”
The event concluded with the singing of “Ani Ma’amin” to the haunting melody composed by Rabbi Azriel David Fastag z”l on his way to the death camps.
