Israel Gutman (Hebrew:ישראל גוטמן; 20 May 1923 – 1 October 2013) was aPolish-born Israeli historian and a survivor ofthe Holocaust.[1]
Biography
Israel (Yisrael) Gutman was born inWarsaw,Second Polish Republic. After participating and being wounded in theWarsaw Ghetto Uprising, he was deported to theMajdanek,Auschwitz andMauthausen concentration camps.[2] His parents and siblings died in the ghetto.[3] In January 1945, he survived the death march from Auschwitz to Mauthausen, where he was liberated by U.S. forces. In the immediate post-war period, he joined theJewish Brigade in Italy.[3] In 1946, he immigrated toMandate Palestine and joinedKibbutzLehavot HaBashan, where he raised a family. He was a member of the kibbutz for 25 years.[3] In 1961, he testified at the trial ofAdolf Eichmann.[3]
Academic career
Gutman was a professor of history at theHebrew University of Jerusalem and deputy chairman of the International Auschwitz Council atAuschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.[2] He was the editor-in-chief of theEncyclopedia of the Holocaust[2] and won theYitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Studies.[3] AtYad Vashem, he headed the International Institute for Holocaust Research (1993–1996), served as Chief Historian (1996–2000) and was the Academic Advisor (from 2000).[3] He was also an advisor to the Polish government on Jewish Affairs, Judaism and Holocaust Commemoration.[3]
