Alex Dancyg
A mural of Alex Dancyg in Warsaw as part of the "StandWithAlex" campaign
Born1948 (age 75–76)
Warsaw, Polish People's Republic
NationalityIsraeli
Awards

Alex Dancyg (Hebrew: אלכס דנציג; born 1948) is a Polish-born Israeli historian, Yad Vashem Institute contributor, farmer and an active advocate of Polish-Jewish dialogue.[1] Dancyg is a member of Kibbutz Nir-Oz and was kidnapped by Hamas militants to Gaza during the 2023 Nir-Oz massacre.[2]

Biography

Dancyg was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1948 to parents who were survivors of the Holocaust. In 1957, he and his family immigrated to Israel, where he joined the youth organisation Hashomer Hatzair, served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including during several wars, and obtained a degree in history. He started a family on Kibbutz Nir-Oz, raising three children. In 1986, Dancyg returned to Poland for the first time in three decades and visited the Auschwitz death camp, which fuelled his interest in Holocaust education and the complicated Polish–Jewish relations[1][2] (for the post-Communist period see here).

In 1990, he started working with Yad Vashem, preparing tour guides chosen to accompany Israeli groups on their visits to Poland. His work at Yad Vashem also included lecturing and meeting educators and students from Poland and Israel.[1][3] Dancyg led a program for 120 Israeli and Polish schools to meet together during Israeli school trips to Poland.[4]

Dancyg received several awards, including the National Education Commission award – the highest honor from the Polish Education Ministry – and the Silver Cross of Merit from the then-president of Poland, the late Lech Kaczyński.[3][4]

Abduction by Hamas

On 7 October 2023, at the start of the 2023 Israel Hamas War, Dancyg was kidnapped by Hamas militants from Kibbutz Nir-Oz. His son, Mati Dancyg, said Alex Dancyg's last communication was a text he sent to his other son, Yuval Dancyg, at approximately 8:30 am that morning, in which Dancyg told them about the situation in the kibbutz.[5]

Dancyg's son and grandchildren survived the attack by hiding in their own shelter. His ex-wife also survived, by holding her missile proof shelter door shut for seven hours, protecting her and her three grandchildren.[4]

Murals with the hashtag "StandWithAlex" have been painted in Warsaw as part of a campaign to build pressure for his release.[4][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Alex Dancyg (b. 1948) - Lexicon - NN Theatre". teatrnn.pl. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  2. 1 2 "Alex Danzig: Fears grow for much-loved historian kidnapped by Hamas". 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  3. 1 2 "My friend Alex Danycg, 75, is held hostage in Gaza". The Jerusalem Post. 2023-10-30. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  4. 1 2 3 4 ToI staff (22 October 2023). "Taken captive: Alex Dancyg, murals painted for Holocaust educator". Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Dillon, Kassy (2023-10-26). "'We have no time': Elderly Holocaust educator kidnapped by Hamas needs critical medication, son says". Fox News. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  6. ↑ "Poles campaign for return of Holocaust educator, 75, taken hostage by Hamas". Times of Israel.
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