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Petr Erben passed away

On Wednesday April 5, 2017 Czech compatriot Petr Erben at the age of 96 years passed away. The funeral will be held on Friday April 7, 2017 at 2pm at the cemetery of moshav Gea near Ashkelon.

Petr Erben was born on March 20, 1921 in Ostrava in a Jewish Family as Petr Eisenberg.  In his youth he was active in Zionist movement and was member of Tchelet Lavan organization, which was based on scouting principles.

He studied technical college in Brno and at the age of 21 he was deported to the Ghetto Theresienstadt, from where he is known as popular goalkeeper of Theresienstadt football. In September 1944 he came to the concentration camp Auschwitz, in January 1945 to concentration camp Mauthausen and in May 1945 he was liberated in the camp Gusen.

After the war Petr Erben lived in Prague, where he started again to work for Zionist movement aiming the establishment of independent Jewish state in Palestine. In 1948 he came together with his wife Eva via France to Israel, because communist Czechoslovak authorities did not allow direct emigration.

In the Jewish State he started to work in building industry. Together with his wife he created a new home in Ashkelon, where he spent the rest of his life. Petr Erben was member of Beit Theresienstadt, helping to keep memory of the Nazi ghetto Theresienstadt and its prisoners. Till his last days he was an active commentator of political development in Czech Republic and Israel.