Gidon Lev

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Gidon Lev
Born
Peter Wolfgang Löw

(1935-03-03) 3 March 1935 (age 89)[citation needed]
Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia
NationalityIsraeli
Occupation(s)Farmer, Writer, Former TikTok educator
Known forHolocaust survivor
Notable workThe True Adventures of Gidon Lev: Rascal, Holocaust Survivor, and Optimist [1] [2]

Gidon Lev (born Peter Wolfgang Löw, 3 March 1935)[NIS 1][3] is a Czechoslovakian-born Israeli dairy farmer and Holocaust survivor who was interned at the Nazi ghetto of Theresienstadt between the ages of 6 and 10.[4] Of the 9,000 children imprisoned in or transported through Theresienstadt concentration camp, he is one of the more than 2,000 children estimated to have survived.

Early life[edit]

Lev was born in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, on 3 March 1935.[NIS 1][5] Both of his parents came from secular Jewish families that had lived for many generations in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

His family fled to Prague when Nazi Germany annexed the Sudetenland in 1938. In 1941, Lev and his family were transported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, a Nazi ghetto in Terezín, Czechoslovakia.[6]

Theresienstadt concentration camp[edit]

Lev was six years old when he was interned in the Theresienstadt ghetto with his family in 1941. Twenty-six of Lev's family members were murdered in the Holocaust, including his father, who died while being transported from Auschwitz to Buchenwald.[7][8]

Lev was 10 years old when the Red Army liberated the concentration camp in May 1945.[9] A total of 15,000 children were imprisoned at Terezín during the course of the war, according to Yad Vashem and the Terezin museum, and Lev was one of the very few to survive.

Later life[edit]

After their release from the concentration camp and the end of World War II, Lev and his mother immigrated first to the United States and then to Canada in 1949. Ten years later, in 1959, Lev arrived in Israel and took up communal farming in the Kibbutz Hazorea in the Jezreel Valley.[7][9]

Lev served in the Israeli Defense Force during the Six-Day War and the War of Attrition in 1967.[10]

TikTok career[edit]

Lev opened a TikTok account in July 2021 and has published videos primarily aimed at Holocaust education.[11] He has received media coverage for speaking out against Holocaust denial and antisemitism.[12][13][14]

In 2021, Lev released a TikTok video criticizing and demanding an apology from American podcaster Joe Rogan for drawing parallels between the Holocaust and mandatory proof-of-vaccination checks against COVID-19.[15]

Lev deactivated his TikTok account in November 2023 in response to losing thousands of followers and a wave of antisemitic hate comments after the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.[16]

Published works[edit]

  • Gray, Julie (2020). The true adventures of Gidon Lev. Gidon Lev. Ramat Gan, Israel. ISBN 978-1-7352497-0-4. OCLC 1162202880.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Private life[edit]

Lev was married twice and has six children, 15 grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.[13] He was married to his second wife for forty years, until she died of cancer in 2012.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-true-adventures-of-gidon-lev-julie-gray/1137307620
  2. ^ Gray, Julie (July 2020). The True Adventures of Gidon Lev: Rascal Holocaust Survivor Optimist. Julie Gray. ISBN 978-1735249704.
  3. ^ "Gidon's Story | The True Adventures of Gidon Lev". The True Adventures. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  4. ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran. "An 86-year-old Holocaust survivor criticized Joe Rogan for appearing to compare vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany, accusing him of promoting hate". Insider. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  5. ^ Kinkade, Skye. "Mount Shasta native pens book about Holocaust survivor". Mount Shasta Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  6. ^ "The Adventures of Gidon Lev: A post-Holocaust mosaic of life". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b "This Holocaust survivor is a TikTok sensation". Unpacked. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Taking Holocaust Education to TikTok". Tablet Magazine. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Holocaust Survivor Uses TikTok To Educate". NoCamels. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  10. ^ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/julie-gray/the-true-adventures-of-gidon-lev/
  11. ^ ""Schäm dich!" – KZ-Überlebender ist fassungslos über Holocaust-Vergleiche von Impfgegnern". stern.de (in German). Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Holocaust Survivor Reacts To TikToker Who Was 'Pretending To Be In A Concentration Camp'". www.unilad.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  13. ^ a b "The Holocaust Survivor Using TikTok to Fight Antisemites and COVID Deniers". Haaretz. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  14. ^ "'TikTok Improved Its Awareness of Cheapening the Holocaust'". Haaretz. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Holocaust survivor accuses Joe Rogan of "promoting hate" in viral Video". Newsweek. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  16. ^ Gray, Julie (19 November 2023). "Why I am leaving TikTok behind". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 20 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Non-independent sources

  1. ^ a b See video content and title notes on Lev, Gidon (3 March 2022). #happybirthday #tiktokgrandpa #fyp. Retrieved 10 February 2023. [dead link]
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