Yvonne Engelman OAM 1927-2025
Holocaust survivor and founding member of the Sydney Jewish Museum w.Yvonne Engelman has passed away at 98.
Yvonne Engelman
Yvonne was born in 1927 in Dovhe, Czechoslovakia; a beautiful place where her family lived for many generations. Yvonne was an only child and only grandchild.
In 1944, she and her family were taken to the Beregszasz ghetto and later to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Yvonne was the only member of her family to survive. In 1949, in Sydney, Yvonne married John Engelman; theirs was the first wedding of Holocaust survivors that took place in Australia.
Yvonne was described by friends and many in the Museum team as ‘a fighter’ who ‘lived life as a celebration’. She made an extraordinary connection with the thousands of students she spoke to over her years at the Museum. Among the stories that resonated deeply with them was her account of promising her father that she would 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.’”
Yvonne had an incredibly positive attitude to life and was grateful for everything in it. She treasured her family and they treasured her; she was their centre and their heart. With a strong will and resolute spirit, she lived her life with dignity and pride. Yvonne leaves a unique legacy, having inspired countless people of all ages and faiths with a message of tolerance and resilience.
Yvonne Engelman was awarded an OAM in the Queen’s Birthday awards in June, 2018 for services to the Jewish community.
George Foster is the president of the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors & Descendants.
