Arnold Kohn (21 May 1905 – 16 November 1984) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

, longtime president of the Jewish community

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

and

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

survivor.

Biography

Kohn was born in

Dobrovac Dobrovac is a village in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , ...

, near

Lipik Lipik is a town in western Slavonia, in the Požega-Slavonia County of northeastern Croatia. It is known for its spas, mineral water and Lipizzaner stables. Settlements The settlements included in the administrative area of Lipik include: * ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Zionist family on 21 May 1905. His family was engaged in grocery store trade. In 1905 Kohn moved to Osijek with his family. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1942, Kohn and his family were deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

from their home in

Tenja Tenja ( sr-cyr, Тења, hu, Tenye, german: Tenne) is a city in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, located just southeast of Osijek. It is home for many popular movie stars. It is also place for rich and wealthy such as Andrej Plenković and Veliki Tat ...

, near Osijek. While at Auschwitz, inmate number "62178" was tattooed onto his arm. Kohn survived the Holocaust while all members of his immediate family (mother, brothers and sisters) perished in the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

. After his return from

Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

in 1945 Kohn was physically and mentally exhausted, on the verge of death. After his recovery, he participated in the restoration of the Jewish community of Osijek. He was a longtime president of the union of trade and craft workers in Osijek. In 1962 he was awarded with the "Medal of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia". Within the Jewish community of Osijek he was a longtime member of the board, and from 1965 to 1975 he was the president of the community. Kohn's special merit is in setting the

Oscar Nemon Oscar Nemon (born Oscar Neumann; 13 March 1906 – 13 April 1985) was a Croatian sculptor who was born in Osijek, Croatia, but eventually settled in England. He is best known for his series of more than a dozen public statues of Winston Churchill, ...

monument "Mother and Child" dedicated to Jews who perished during the Holocaust and the victims of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. Kohn was also a member of the Union of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia executive committee. He died in Osijek on 16 November 1984.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohn, Arnold 1905 births 1984 deaths People from Lipik Croatian Orthodox Jews Austro-Hungarian Jews Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian Zionists Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Mauthausen concentration camp survivors World War II civilian prisoners