When David Feuerstein escaped from a Nazi forced labor brigade in 1943 and joined the Polish underground resistance, he swore that if he survived, he would dedicate his life to telling the story of the Holocaust and making sure the world would never forget. Henceforth, his life has been one long fulfillment of that oath.
David Feuerstein was born in Poland in 1925, and raised in Sosnowiec. In June 1941, he was taken to a forced labor camp in Silesia, and in March 1942 imprisoned in Auschwitz-Birkenau. In May 1943, he was taken as part of a forced labor brigade to dig through the remains of the destroyed Warsaw Ghetto. He escaped and joined the Polish resistance, where his bravery won him the recognition of his compatriots, and later a decoration by the Polish government. Of his immediate family, David's parents and three younger siblings were murdered in Auschwitz on the 9 Av, 1943. Only he and his younger brother, Jose, survived.
After the war, David married Sara Marysia (née Zucker), also a survivor. They settled in Argentina, where their first daughter was born. Two years later they moved to Chile, where they set up a successful business and where their second daughter was born. Today they are the proud grandparents of six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Since 1970, David has been singularly dedicated - in the national and international arenas - to preserving the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Shoah.
He is currently President of the Chilean Society for Yad Vashem (established in 1983). In 1998, he established the Yom Hashoah Prize to recognize Chilean citizens for their outstanding work in preserving the memory of the Holocaust, and for their respect to the principles of tolerance and civil rights. In 2004, he donated a memorial monument to the martyrs of the Holocaust, which stands in the Estadio Israelita of Santiago.
David and Sara Marysia Feuerstein are Benefactors of the Valley of the Communities and have recently endowed Yad Vashem's new VIP Pavilion.
.jpg "Mr. Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate presents David and Sara Marysia Feuerstein with a gift in appreciation for their generosity to Yad Vashem")
Mr. Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate presents David and Sara Marysia Feuerstein with a gift in appreciation for their generosity to Yad Vashem
From left to right: Elie Horn, MK Rabbi Michael Melchior, David Feuerstein, and Avner Shalev
From left to right: Puppy Feuerstein Gaon, David Gaon, Sara Marysia Feuerstein, David Feuerstein, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Elie Horn, Sussy Feuerstein Horn
