Holocaust Survivor’s Descendant Leads Israeli Forces Following October 7 Attacks

When Col. (Res.) Eli Konigsberg dons his uniform at age 57, he carries with him the weight of two families nearly erased from history during the Holocaust. As the world observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, Konigsberg’s service in Israel’s Jerusalem and Central District Home Front Command represents more than military duty—it embodies a living connection to a devastating past.

“Both of my parents are Holocaust survivors,” Konigsberg told Fox News Digital. His father came from a large Orthodox Jewish family in western Poland, where the extended family numbered around 700 people before World War II. After the Holocaust, only his father and two cousins remained alive—just three survivors out of 700 family members.

After surviving Auschwitz, Konigsberg’s father joined the Betar movement and attempted to reach the Land of Israel in 1946 aboard the ship Theodor Herzl. British authorities detained him, imprisoning him at the Atlit camp before exiling him to Cyprus for nearly two years. Only with Israel’s 1948 declaration of independence did he finally arrive in the Jewish homeland.

“He enlisted, fought in the War of Independence and four additional wars and served in the reserves for 55 years,” Konigsberg explained, highlighting his father’s lifelong commitment to Israel’s defense.

The losses in his mother’s family were equally devastating. Her parents and sisters were taken from their home in eastern Poland after neighbors informed on them. “They were forced to dig their own grave beneath a pear tree and were executed by gunfire,” Konigsberg recounted.

Though the Holocaust was rarely discussed openly in his childhood home, its presence shaped their lives. Now, Konigsberg worries about a different kind of silence as survivors pass away. “We are 80 years after the Holocaust, and the people who can say ‘I was there. I saw’ are disappearing,” he noted. “Therefore, the duty of remembrance is our duty.”

This sense of responsibility has defined his life. A father of four daughters and a grandfather, Konigsberg has served more than 36 years in Israel’s reserve forces, completing over 3,600 days of military duty—equivalent to ten years of service. In Israel, reservists are legally exempt from duty at age 45, but Konigsberg chose to continue, stating simply: “When they call me, I will immediately arrive.”

Following Hamas’ October 7 attack, Konigsberg was mobilized once again. “What we saw on October 7 was killing for the sake of killing,” he said. “Not to conquer territory or change reality. It was hatred for the sake of hatred.”

Since then, he has commanded rescue and heavy engineering units operating in the Gaza Envelope, inside Gaza, and in northern Israel. His forces have carried out body identification, rescue operations, and clearing missions aimed at eliminating terrorist hiding places. “In the next few days we are going back into Gaza again for clearing and demolition,” he noted during the interview.

Despite the ongoing trauma of conflict, Konigsberg sees Israel’s reserve system as reflecting something powerful about Israeli society. “What is beautiful about the reserves is that people can hold very different political opinions, and everyone still comes and works as one body,” he observed.

The current global climate has only reinforced his belief in the persistence of antisemitism. “We see now that antisemitism existed and will continue to exist in the future,” he said, pointing to what he sees as disproportionate global reactions to Israel’s actions compared to other international conflicts. “There are terrible things happening in other places. For example, the Iranian regime crackdown on its own people, and you do not see demonstrations like this, but when it involves Israel and Jews, there is an outcry.”

For Konigsberg, remembrance extends beyond honoring the dead—it’s about protecting the living and securing a Jewish future. “The place of every Jew is here in Israel,” he asserted. “And we must always remain united and strong. We must be here in our land, be strong and united and ensure that ‘never again’ truly means never again.”

As International Holocaust Remembrance Day reminds the world of history’s darkest chapter, Konigsberg’s continuing service stands as a living bridge between past atrocities and present vigilance—a reminder that for many Israelis, the Holocaust remains not distant history but an ever-present warning about the consequences of hatred left unchecked.