Australian Holocaust survivor Yvonne Engelman, who endured the atrocities of Auschwitz, has passed away at the age of 98.
She died peacefully after a brief illness, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Her funeral drew a large crowd, with mourners overflowing from the chapel into the street on Monday night to honour her life.
A founding member of the Sydney Jewish Museum, Engelman was remembered for her unwavering commitment to justice and truth in the face of unimaginable adversity.
“If I, as a witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust, do not speak up, who will?” she once said.
For 32 years, Mrs Engelman volunteered at the museum, sharing her story with thousands, driven by one mission: “So it will never happen again.”
Born in 1927 in Dovhe, a farming village in Czechoslovakia, Engelman was an only child when she and her parents were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1944.
Before they were separated, her father urged her to survive. “My father said to me, ‘I don’t know where we are going, but I’m sure it’s not a holiday… You have to promise me one thing: that you will survive.’ I said, ‘Of course I will survive.’”
That was the last time she saw her parents.
At just 14 years old, Yvonne had her head shaved and was forced into a shower room where she was locked in overnight. However, the gas system malfunctioned, and instead of being killed, she was sent to perform forced labour.
“We worked 10 hours a day, constantly afraid we’d be the next to die,” she later recalled.
Auschwitz became one of the most notorious Nazi camps, where 1.1 million of the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust perished.
Later sent to a German factory as the Allies advanced, Engelman survived until liberation and sought a new life far from Europe.
“I looked at a map and chose the furthest place I could — Australia,” she said.
In 1949, she married fellow Holocaust survivor John Engelman in what was Australia’s first wedding between two survivors.
Her colleagues at the Sydney Jewish Museum described her as someone who “lived life as a celebration,” always grateful and guided by strength and determination.
“She was the heart of her family, and they adored her,” they said.
Yvonne Engelman leaves behind a powerful legacy of resilience, tolerance, and hope, having inspired generations through her story.
