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Berish Orbach, One of the Last Warsaw Ghetto Witnesses, Dies in Melbourne

His passing further thins the ranks of firsthand voices from the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Overview

  • Orbach, whose death in Melbourne was reported Tuesday, was listed as 105 by VINnews and Israel National News, while Matzav reported 104.
  • In March 1943, his brother Mordechai secured forged papers and a Polish police uniform that let him slip out of the Warsaw Ghetto just before the uprising.
  • He spent the rest of the war in hiding, with Mordechai later captured and executed by the Gestapo.
  • After the war he emigrated to Melbourne in 1947, built a knitting business, married Tova in 1955, and served for years as president of Caulfield Shul.
  • His testimony is preserved in museum archives, and an August 2025 105th-birthday celebration drew letters from King Charles III and Australia’s prime minister.