Dancyg, born in Warsaw in 1948, was a renowned historian associated with Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. He moved to Israel with his family at the age of nine, settling in the Nir Oz kibbutz.
Over the years, he became a pivotal figure in fostering Polish-Jewish dialogue, describing himself as having a "dual identity" that allowed him to educate about Polish history in Israel and share knowledge of Jewish history in Poland.
In 1986, Dancyg returned to Poland as a translator for one of the first groups of Israeli youth visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi death camp. This visit made him realize the complexities of explaining Polish-Jewish relations to young Israelis. By 1990, Yad Vashem and the Israeli Ministry of Education had tasked him with conducting courses for guides accompanying Israeli groups to Poland. Dancyg's mission, according to him, was to present Poland not only as a site of Jewish suffering but also as a place where heroic Poles saved Jews during the Holocaust.
He was abducted during a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
(jh)
Source: IAR
