DALLAS — A Holocaust survivor living in Dallas has passed away at 102 years old, according to The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum.
Heinz Wallach died on March 3, 2023, nearly two months before his 103rd birthday.
Wallach was born in Baumbach, Germany on May 27, 1920. His parents, Leopold and Gerdi Wallach, were murdered in the Holocaust, museum officials said.
According to The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Heinz Wallach lived through Kristallnacht, also known as “The Night of Broken Glass,” where Nazi mass violence and destruction targeted the Jews of Germany and Austria on November 9-10, 1938. He and his father were among 30,000 Jews arrested by the Nazis.
Heinz Wallach's father, a World War I veteran, was imprisoned in Buchenwald Concentration Camp and released eight days later. Heinz Meir Wallach, then 18 years old, was held in Buchenwald for two months until his father was able produce a ticket for Heinz’s travel to the U.S. that convinced the guards at Buchenwald to release him.
Heinz Wallach's father was unable to get a U.S. visa for him, so the ticket could not be used and Heinz was forced to remain in Germany with his family.
Heinz Wallach married his wife, Doris, in 1944 and they moved from Israel to Dallas in 1980. The couple were married for 72 years and had two daughters, Ruth and Tamar. Doris passed away in 2016 and Ruth did as well in 2020.
"A longtime member of Congregation Shearith Israel, Heinz was full of life and a friend to all who met him. He shared his incredible life’s adventures and lessons with many people over the years," The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum wrote.
Heinz Wallach is survived by Tamar, his four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
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