Bat-Sheva Dagan

Polish-born Israeli Holocaust survivor, educator, author, and speaker (1925-2024)

Bat-Sheva Dagan (Hebrew: בת-שבע דגן; 8 September 1925 – 25 January 2024)[1] is a Polish-Israeli Holocaust survivor, educator, author, and speaker. She was born in Łódź, Poland.

Bat-Sheva Dagan
Dagan in 2016
Dagan in 2016
Native name
בת שבע דגן
BornIzabella Batszewa Rubinsztajn
(1925-09-08)8 September 1925
Łódź, Poland
Died25 January 2024(2024-01-25) (aged 98)
Bat-Yam, Israel
Resting placeZefat, Israel
OccupationPsychologist, teacher, author, speaker
EducationHebrew University of Jerusalem (BA)
Columbia University (BA)
SubjectHolocaust literature for children and young adults
Notable awardsWoman of the Year in Education, 2008, Yad Vashem
SpousePaul Dagan
Children2

Holocaust

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She was incarcerated in a ghetto in Radom with her parents and two sisters in 1940. After her parents and a sister were deported and murdered in Treblinka in August 1942, she escaped to Germany, but was discovered, imprisoned, and deported to Auschwitz in May 1943. After spending 20 months in Auschwitz, she survived two death marches and was liberated by British troops in May 1945. She was the only survivor of her family.

After the Holocaust

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Dagan and her husband settled in Israel, where she taught kindergarten and later obtained degrees in educational counseling and psychology. She went on to author books, poems, and songs for children and young adults on Holocaust themes, and developed psychological and pedagogical methods for teaching the Holocaust to children. She is thought a pioneer in children's Holocaust education.[2] Dagan died in Bat-Yam, Israel on 25 January 2024, at the age of 98.[3]

Awards and honors

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In 2008 Dagan was named Woman of the Year in Education by Yad Vashem for her works to Holocaust teaching for children. She was also named an Outstanding Member of the City of Holon. In 2012 she was honored as one of the torch lighters at ceremonies marking Yom HaShoah.[2]

References

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  1. "Imagination: Blessed Be, Cursed Be". Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. February 17, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Torchlighters 2012: Bat-Sheva Dagan". Yad Vashem. 2016. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  3. "חולון נפרדת מיקירת העיר בת שבע דגן". gal-gefen. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

Other websites

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