Sad news has arrived from Israel – on his 97th year, the soul of renowned Israeli historian and public figure Aaron Weiss has left this material world. For many years, he participated in various projects to revive Jewish life in Ukraine, collaborated with the “Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine” museum, and actively contributed to charitable and community programs implemented with the support of the Joint.
Aaron Weiss was born in the city of Borislav in the Lviv region. He was 12 years old when the Nazi occupation began. Thanks to the help of two women – a Ukrainian and a Pole – the Weiss family managed to survive. The suffering of the Holocaust remained an unhealed wound throughout his entire life.
Aaron Weiss did much to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims and educate youth in the spirit of compassion and tolerance. In particular, he was instrumental in founding the “Ark” Interfaith Youth Seminar, which has a long tradition of nurturing young people in the spirit of spiritual resistance to Evil.
As a professional historian and recognized expert, Aaron Weiss was one of the consultants during the creation of the permanent exhibition at the “Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine” museum. An integral part of it is an installation of the hideout where the Weiss family sheltered during the occupation. The story of the Jewish family’s life and rescue in occupied Borislav is also depicted in several documentaries, including
The Jewish community of Dnipro, the “Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine” museum, and the “Chesed Menachem” charitable foundation express sincere condolences to Aaron Weiss’s family and loved ones.
