Zvi Asaria

Left to right: Rabbi Zvi Helfgott (later Rabbi Zvi Asaria), Josef Rosensaft and Rabbi Joseph Asher, members of the Central Jewish Committee for the British Zone of Germany. Photo taken at Bergen-Belsen, probably in 1947..

Zvi Asaria (Hebrew: צבי אסריה; September 8, 1913 – December 27, 2002) was a Yugoslav-born rabbi, Holocaust survivor, theologian, author, and post-war communal leader, who advocated for dialogue between Jews and post-war Germans.

Early life and education Asaria was born as Hermann Helfgott in Beodra, in the Banat region (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Serbia). His father, Kolman, was a merchant and cantor; the family was poor, with six people living in two rooms. He had to leave before finishing his degree after the Anschluss; he went to Budapest where he finished his Ph.D., and was ordained as a rabbi.

War years He was a rabbi briefly in Yugoslavia before being drafted into the Yugoslav army as a chaplain. In spring 1941 he was captured by the Germans and spent four years as a POW. After a year as a prisoner, he and his Jewish comrades were sent by cattle car to a camp near Osnabruck; there he organized Jewish life for the soldiers. After several more deportations, he ended up on a 400 km. forced POW death march in the winter of 1944-45 from Meyenburg to Brandenburg; those too weak to walk were shot. He escaped captivity near the end of the war. "He had a striking personality and a beautiful singing voice," was popular and helped maintain morale. He was considered to be the foremost Halakhic authority in the British zone.

Post-war In 1947 he represented the World Jewish Congress, campaigning for the future State of Israel, supporting illegal immigration to Palestine and, was named Chief Rabbi of the British occupation zone, visiting Jewish communities in that region. He moved to Israel in 1948, changing his name to Zvi Asaria. He fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War as a major. "We are tolerated, that's all," he opined.

Asari helped establish the Sh'erit ha-Pletah movement in post-war Europe, acting on behalf of the 250,000 Jews in DP camps.

All of Asari's family were murdered in the Holocaust except for himself.