Sara Atzmon
A survivor, artist, and educator who transformed personal memory into a lifelong mission of testimony, creativity, and remembrance.
Early Life
Sara Atzmon, née Gottdiener, was born in 1933 in Hajdúnánás, Hungary, the fourteenth of sixteen children. At the age of seven, her father and four of her brothers were taken away to forced labor.
In 1944, her family was sent as part of the first transport from the ghetto in Debrecen to Auschwitz, together with children, the elderly, and the sick. At the Polish border, the train was stopped, and after several days of waiting they were taken instead to forced labor camps in Austria. In that same year, Sara's father died beside her from hunger and humiliation.
At the end of November 1944, the family passed through the Strasshof disinfection camp, where they were stripped naked and held for several days. Partially clothed, they were then sent to Bergen-Belsen. There, for about six months, Sara stood in the snow for hours during daily roll call, wearing on one foot a red shoe belonging to a little girl, and on the other a black high-heeled shoe belonging to a woman.
Liberation and Loss
In April 1945, Sara and her family were liberated by the American army near the city of Magdeburg. Sara was twelve years old and weighed only about 17 kilograms. She received her life as a gift.
Her father Israel, three of her brothers, four nephews, her grandmother, brothers-in-law, cousins, and many other relatives did not return. In total, sixty members of her family were murdered.
Arrival in Israel
After liberation, the American army offered the survivors two possibilities: to travel either to the Land of Israel or to the United States. The Gottdiener family resolutely chose to immigrate to the Land of Israel.
Via Buchenwald and through the Atlit transit camp, Sara arrived in 1945 as part of one of the first groups of immigrants after the war.
Art as Testimony
In 1982, Sara began her artistic studies במסגרת a local community art group. In 1987, she returned for the first time to the places of her childhood. That journey became a turning point.
Following the trip, she began sharing her memories in schools. Yet even when children and adults were moved to tears, Sara felt that they still could not fully grasp what she was trying to convey.
She therefore began expressing her memories through art. Painting became a language through which the suffering, endurance, and inner world of the child she once was could be seen and felt.
Selected Exhibitions and Milestones
Solo exhibitions at Yad Vashem, Tzfat, Ramat Gan, and Ra’anana.
Exhibitions in Budapest and Austria, at Bar-Ilan University, the Knesset, Rishon LeZion, Holon, Beit Berl, and Kfar Sirkin. In 1993, Sara received the Sussman Prize from Austria, upon the recommendation of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yad Vashem.
Educational missions, international exhibitions, and presentations in Poland, the United States, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Prague, Terezín, and Kyiv, often under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Exhibitions in educational centers and public institutions in Israel and abroad, including Bergen-Belsen, Koblenz, Tel Aviv, Stockholm, Be’er Sheva, Modiin, and Nir Galim. A permanent exhibition was displayed for about two years at Beit HaEdut in Nir Galim.
Continued exhibitions and workshops in Israel, Germany, Myanmar, and additional venues, reaching broad audiences of students, educators, soldiers, and visitors from around the world.
Living Legacy
Over the years, Sara Atzmon created a wide body of artistic and documentary work, exhibited in Israel and around the world. Her art became not only a personal expression, but also an educational bridge between generations.
Her work stands at the meeting point of memory, creativity, and moral testimony — preserving the past while continuing to speak powerfully to the present.
