Herman Kahan (born Chaim Hersh Kahan; 15 February 1926 – 13 February 2020) was a Romanian-born Norwegian businessman, rabbi, author, and

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

Early life

Kahan was born into an

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

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 ...

family in Sighet, Romania.

Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel b ...

was among his childhood friends.

World War II and concentration camps

During World War II, when

Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...

was part of

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

(''see

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all ...

''), Kahan and two siblings were able to obtain "

Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

papers" in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. After getting reports from his father in Sighet that Jews in the city were gathered into ghettos, he returned home to provide food. In 1944, Kahan was

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

to the

Auschwitz concentration camp 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 ...

with his father, mother, and a sister. After arriving in the camp, his mother and sister were murdered in the

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Histor ...

s; Kahan and his father were selected as workers. After a couple of weeks, they were transported to the Wolfsberg camp near Breslau, and later to the

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 ...

and

Ebensee concentration camp Ebensee was a subcamp of Mauthausen concentration camp established by the SS to build tunnels for armaments storage near the town of Ebensee, Austria, in 1943. The camp held a total of 27,278 male inmates from 1943 until 1945. Between 8,500 and ...

. Kahan experienced torture in all three camps; his father was also tortured. At the end of his time at Ebensee, Kahan lost consciousness and was thrown into a pile of corpses. American forces liberated the camp the same day, and while transporting the corpses to a mass grave, one of the American soldiers saw Kahan's hand move and pulled him out of the pile. Kahan's father died 10 days after liberation.

Postwar

After the war Kahan moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and planned to go to the United States. He supported himself by selling knitwear he produced with knitting machines. In 1947, he traveled to Norway to visit his sister and her husband. He decided to stay and was granted permission to settle as part of the Jewish refugee quota established to replace the number of Norwegian Jews murdered in the Holocaust. In Norway, he established the textile factory Stabekk trikotasje (now Heka trikotasje), and the business was expanded into other areas. He was active in the Jewish community in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, serving as leader of the Mosaic congregation (Det Mosaiske Trossamfund) for a time, was an active supporter of the

Jewish Museum in Oslo The Oslo Jewish Museum () aims at informing about Jews in Norway. It was established as a foundation in 2003, supported by the Det mosaiske trossamfunn and Oslo City Museum. The museum was officially opened by Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway on Se ...

, and was a board member of the Friends association of

Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities The Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities ( no, Senter for studier av Holocaust og livssynsminoriteter, or ''HL-senteret'') is a Norwegian research institution. It is organised as an independent foundation and is an affiliat ...

. His autobiography, ''Ilden og Lyset'' (English: ''The Fire and the Light''), with a foreword by Elie Wiesel, was published in 1988 and published in English in 2006. He was named Commander of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 2013 for his efforts to promote tolerance and understanding.

Personal

Kahan married a Jewish woman Ester Dante whom he met in Norway. He had five adult children and had grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One of his children is the actress and singer

Bente Kahan Bente Kahan (born 23 September 1958) is a Norwegian solo vocalist, actress, musician, director and playwright, best known for her renditions and productions of Yiddish folk music and plays. Since 2002 she has lived and worked in Poland. Biograph ...

. Herman Kahan died on 13 February 2020.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahan, Herman 1926 births 2020 deaths People from Sighetu Marmației Norwegian company founders Norwegian autobiographers Norwegian activists Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Mauthausen concentration camp survivors Norwegian Ashkenazi Jews Romanian Ashkenazi Jews Refugees in Norway Romanian emigrants to Norway