88 years after Kristallnacht: The Torah scroll that survived the Nazis has arrived in Israel
On Kristallnacht, the Torah scroll was hidden in the Rossman family home in Wölfersheim while many other Torah scrolls were set on fire. Now, after nearly nine decades during which it was kept in a Jewish community in New York, new immigrants Michael and Rina Rossman have closed an emotional historical circle and brought it to their new home in Efrat: "A story that embodies the journey of the Jewish people from destruction to revival."
An 88-year journey: Recently, a flight from New York landed in Israel carrying Michael and Rina Rossman, new immigrants on their way to their new home in Efrat. The couple made Aliyah with the assistance of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, and as they prepared for the start of a new chapter in their lives, they carried an extraordinary cargo: an ancient family Torah scroll that survived Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany.
The synagogue that survived the inferno
The story of the Torah scroll begins in the town of Wölfersheim, Germany. During the events of Kristallnacht in November 1938, Julius Rossman was beaten by Nazi forces and severely wounded. His wife Clara rescued him and hid him in an attic, where he remained while thousands of Jewish men were arrested across the country.
On that night of terror, many synagogues were set on fire and Torah scrolls were desecrated. However, the town's small synagogue, located inside the Rossman family home, survived the destruction, and with it, the family Torah scroll.
The Rossman family had deep roots in Wölfersheim. The dark era took a heavy toll: Julius's brother, Moritz, his wife Toni, and their young daughter Lieselotte were murdered in Auschwitz, while his sister, Helena Simon, was deported to the Minsk Ghetto and murdered there.
From fleeing to New York — to the home in Efrat
Three years before Kristallnacht, following the implementation of the Nuremberg Laws, Julius and Clara Rossman made the heartbreaking decision to send their only son, Kurt, alone across the Atlantic to save his life. Later, they managed to escape to the United States and reunite with him, bringing the precious Torah scroll with them.
Upon arriving in the US, the Rossman family joined the "Shaarei Tikva" community in Washington Heights, New York. For nearly nine decades, the Torah scroll was kept with reverence, becoming an inseparable part of the family heritage.
Now, 88 years later, the historical circle has closed. Michael and Rina Rossman, descendants of the family, decided to fulfill their dream and make Aliyah to Israel. After a long journey — from Wölfersheim to New York, and from New York to Israel — the Torah scroll has arrived at its new home in Efrat.
Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer welcomed the Aliyah:
"The Aliyah of Michael and Rina to Israel together with the family Torah scroll that survived Kristallnacht is an especially emotional and symbolic moment. This is a story that embodies the journey of the Jewish people — from destruction to revival and from exile to Aliyah to the Land of Israel. A Torah scroll that the Nazis failed to destroy, which was kept for generations in the United States, arrives today in the State of Israel together with the family members who guarded it. I congratulate Michael and Rina on their Aliyah and wish them a good integration and a warm home in Israel."
For the Rossman family, this is not just a saved historical object. The Torah scroll carries the story of a family that was persecuted, lost its loved ones, managed to rebuild itself in the United States, and now connects its history to its Israeli chapter.
