Thanks to the efforts of United with Israel, Holocaust survivor Hilde Nathan got her last wish: to be buried next to her mother in the Holy Land.
Thanks to the efforts of United with Israel (UWI), Holocaust survivor Hilde Nathan, who died alone in the Canary Islands, where she had lived for the last several decades, got her final wish – to be buried in the Holy Land. She was accompanied by more than 200 people who packed Tel Aviv’s Kiryat Shaul Cemetery on Monday.
Israeli media, informed by UWI about the funeral a day earlier, had called on the public to attend.
Nathan’s sole friend in Israel, also a Holocaust survivor, said that throughout her life, “Nathan always lived alone, but today it seems that the entire People of Israel has come to say goodbye. She lived alone but did not leave alone.”
Nathan was born on October 11, 1926, in Germany. She was one of the few released from the Theresienstadt concentration camp by the Soviet army on the 8th of May, 1945, the day of Germany’s defeat.
Even before the outbreak of WWII, the Nathans had tried immigrating to the Land of Israel, but visas were hard to obtain. In 1933, only few could have imagined what would happen within a decade.
During the first few years of the war, the Nathans kept trying to escape, but in 1942, when they finally seemed close to succeeding, they were transported to Theresienstadt, located 50 km north of Prague. Hilde and her parents were among the few who survived the camp.
After the war, Nathan’s father passed away and was buried in Germany. She and her mother continued on to the Canary Islands, where they found some peace and quiet after the hardships suffered during the war.
Nathan’s mother died a few years ago and was buried in Israel.
Nathan passed away two weeks ago in Spain, leaving nothing but her memories. She had no family.
Being buried next to her mother in the Holy Land was her last wish. During childhood, she was humiliated. She had no name, only a number. Today, thanks to many anonymous people who helped make it happen, she had the dignified burial that she deserved.