The Otto Hirsch Park – Shavei Zion
Otto Hirsch was Director of the Jewish Representative Council during the Nazi regime in Germany. Hirsch was a public sector attorney in the city of Stuttgart and was one of the leaders of the Central Committee for Jewish citizens in Germany as well as a dedicated Zionist within this group.
During his lifetime, Otto Hirsch was able to save many Jews from Nazi persecution and he himself was captured and sent to his death at the Auschwitz concentration camp by the Nazis.
Some 60 years ago, a memorial to Otto Hirsch and his life-saving contribution during WW2 was established in the coastal village of Shavei Zion, located adjacent to the town of Nahariya in northern Israel. After so many decades and due to its proximity close to the sea, the memorial and surrounding park needed urgent refurbishing. The family of Otto Hirsch, now living in the US, in partnership with the local committee and residents of Shavei Zion, will undertake this renovation project, restoring the original memorial site in honor of this Jewish hero – for the benefit of the village residents as well as the visiting public. The Galila foundation is very involved in programs serving the holocaust and ghetto survivors living in the Galilee region, and was honored to have played a role in the realization of this important project.