Ghetto Fighters' House
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The Ghetto Fighters' House ( ''Beit Lohamei Ha-Getaot'', Itzhak Katzenelson Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Heritage Museum, Documentation and Study Center) is a
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
museum founded in 1949 by members of
Kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
Lohamei Hagetaot. It is located in the Western Galilee, Israel, on the Coastal Highway between Acre (Akko) and
Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...
.


History

The Ghetto Fighters' House was founded in 1949. Among the founders were
Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...
who fought in the
ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
undergrounds and
partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...
units. The museum is named for Itzhak Katzenelson, a Jewish poet who was murdered at
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, 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 consisted of Auschw ...
. The Ghetto Fighters' House was the world's first museum commemorating the Holocaust and
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
heroism, with a focus on Jewish resistance in the ghettos and
concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
. Friends of GFH associations are active in Israel, France, Austria, and the United States. In November 2024, it was announced that the museum is in danger of closing following the Iron Swords War, the building was hit by
rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
s from
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, and visitors are not coming.


Departments and activities

*Museum exhibitions *Guided tours (for groups in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
and other languages) * Zivia and Yitzhak "Antek" Zuckerman Study Center (facility for one-, two-, and three-day seminars) *''Yad LaYeled'' Children's Museum and memorial, telling the story of children during the Holocaust *International Book-Sharing Project, using children's books about the Holocaust to foster dialogue and understanding *Center for Humanistic Education *Archives (documents, photographs, artifacts, art collection, recordings) *Library and Reference Room (resources and assistance for researchers, educators and students) *Department of Research on the Holocaust of Soviet Jewry *Publications Department


"Mengele's dog"

In 2006 a 15-page typewritten manuscript in Polish language was found in the archives titled "Pies Mengelego" ("Mengele's Dog"). It is the story of Otto, a Jewish boy of Hungarian-Polish origin from
Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, 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 consisted of Auschw ...
, whom the infamous doctor
Josef Mengele Josef Mengele (; 16 March 19117 February 1979) was a Nazi German (SS) officer and physician during World War II at the Russian front and then at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, often dubbed the "Angel of Death" (). He performed Nazi hum ...
forced to behave like a dog. The story superficially resembles the 1969 novel '' Adam Resurrected'' ("Adam Son of a Dog") by
Yoram Kaniuk Yoram Kaniuk (; May 2, 1930 – June 8, 2013) was an Israeli writer, painter, journalist, and theatre critic. Biography Yoram Kaniuk was born in Tel Aviv. His father, , was the first curator of Tel Aviv Museum of Art and was born in Ternopi ...
, which was made into a 2008 American-German-Israeli drama with the same title. A 2021 article in ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' describes attempts of a contemporary researcher to trace the fate of the "Mengele's dog" boy.Ofer Aderet
The Mystery of the Jewish Boy Who Was Forced to Be Mengele’s ‘Dog’
''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'', April 8, 2021


See also

*
Jewish resistance under Nazi rule Jewish resistance under Nazi rule encompassed various forms of organized underground activities undertaken by Jews against German occupation regimes in Europe during World War II. According to historian Yehuda Bauer, Jewish resistance can be d ...
*
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the ...
* Abraham Berline


References


External links

*
Podcast about the exhibitions and educational work from the Ghetto Fighters' House
{{authority control Museums established in 1949 Holocaust commemoration Holocaust museums Monuments and memorials in Israel Jewish resistance during the Holocaust Museums in Northern District (Israel) History museums in Israel Archives in Israel 1949 establishments in Israel Jewish museums in Israel