Alex (Olesh) Dancyg, 75, was kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 pogrom by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Kibbutz Nir Oz and taken to Gaza. In July 2024, the IDF confirmed that Alex had been assassinated in the Gaza Strip.
In August 2024, Alex’s body was found in a tunnel in Khan Yunis, alongside the remains of five other hostages: Yagev Buchshtav, Nadav Popplewell, Avraham Munder, Chaim Peri and Yoram Metzger. An investigation by the IDF revealed that the six hostages were shot and executed by the terrorists in mid-February 2024.
Alex was buried at Kibbutz Nir Oz on August 25, 2024. He leaves behind his four children, Yuval, Matti, Ben and Lee, as well as numerous grandchildren.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1948 to Nina and Marcin, two Holocaust survivors, Alex made aliyah in 1957 with his parents and older sister, Edith, and joined the left-wing Zionist youth movement HaShomer HaTzaïr . He completed his military service in the IDF Parachute Brigade before settling on Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he raised his children with his then-wife Rachel and worked in the agricultural sector.
A history graduate from Ben Gurion University, Alex worked as a history teacher until a trip to Poland in 1986 – his first since he left in 1957 – sparked his keen interest in history and teaching of the Shoah. In 1990, he began working with the Yad Vashem Museum at the Ministry of Education to train youth travel guides in Poland as well as to train Polish teachers, clergy and police officers. He has thus acquired worldwide fame as a Holocaust historian and expert in this field, and has written several books on the subject.
In a video recording of a lecture he gave shortly before his death, Alex described himself as “born in Poland, a Polish child, son of Holocaust survivors from Warsaw and elsewhere, descendant of ‘a historic family of great rabbis of Vilna. And yet, I am culturally poor…a Jew with deep roots and an Israeli patriot. Is this possible? Yes. I want children to understand that life is complicated.”
Inbal Kvity Ben-Dov, an executive at Yad Vashem, paid tribute to Alex in an online text, recalling the “funny, moving, irritating and educational moments” they shared. “The memories of the fiery redhead you were, even when your hair turned white. We went through ups and downs in our work together, and you were always wise and quick-witted, charismatic and eloquent, very cultured, but also grumpy, irritable and perpetually hungry. Not just for a good meal, a drink or salted nuts, but hungry for new survivor testimonies, captivating books to debate for hours, new experiences and thought-provoking philosophical ideas. »
After news of his death broke, his son Yuval wrote on Instagram: “This is not how it was supposed to end. »
-“You were kidnapped alive, out of your bed, that cursed morning, and you should have come back alive and in one piece. I am sorry that we failed in this task,” Yuval wrote. “I have discovered, over the past few months, how many people you have inspired and the incredible legacy you have left behind you. I promise to carry this legacy with me and tell your story. »
Following the repatriation of Alex’s body, his son, Matty, told the Kan public broadcaster that his father was “one of the founders” of the now widespread trips by Israeli high school students to Poland.
“He devoted a large part of his life to it. He worked for many years with Yad Vashem, established dialogues with groups of Polish Jews, and tried to explain the point of view of Polish citizens in a more precise, more historical and less stereotypical way,” Matty explained. At the same time, Alex worked in agriculture on the kibbutz, where he lived for more than 50 years.
“He was a very intelligent, warm man who loved his family. He was the person I enjoyed talking to the most: he had immense knowledge and was always fascinating,” Matty added.
“I miss him very much. It is crucial to me that the legacy he built – that of Holocaust education and nuanced history – continues. »
To read other tributes about the victims of the Hamas massacres of 10/7/2023 and the war that followed, click here.
