איתי (‎Indig Ithai), Josef

Birth Name איתי (‎Indig Ithai), Josef [1]
Birth Name Indig, Josef
Also Known As איתי‎, יוסף

    Itai איתי‎ loosely means Friendly.
    Itai איתי‎ is often explained as an acronym for "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning" Psalms, 137:5- "אם אשכחך ירושלים, תשכח ימיני" or "Land of Israel, Torah of Israel"- "ארץ ישראל, תורת ישראל".
    Variants:
    Ittai
    Ithai
    Etay
    Itay
    Ytai
    Etai
    Itaj
    Eatai
    Itai איתי‎ is a Biblical name of two Biblical characters: Itai HaGiti Itai of Gath and Itai Ben-Rivai that appear in the 1 Samuel Chapter 23 and 1 Chronicles Chapter 11

Call Name יוסף
Gender male
Age at Death 81 years

Events

Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Birth 1917    

Event Note

Joseph Ithai Indig was raised in Osijek, where his father was cantor in the Synagogue.

 
Membership   השומר הצעיר ‎haShomer haTzair  

 
Transport July, 1941 Kindertransport Children’s Transport Josef Indig escorted 30 children, without certificates on the last train to Villa Emma

Event Note

Josef Indig, age 32 years, escorted children to Yugoslavia.
He, and two other adults accompanying the children, planned to take the children to Palestine,

Event Note

In the summer of 1940, Recha Freier escaped from Germany to Yugoslavia, and arranged for 120 German children to be smuggled to Yugoslavia in a similar manner.
Sara Kadosh cites: "When Freier requested certificates for the youth, however, Szold informed her that certificates could be issued only to children who had left Germany before the outbreak of the war. Freier received ninety certificates for her group, but only because the director of the Palestine Office in Zagreb, Richard
Kohn, notified Szold that all the candidates were prewar refugees. (Szold was angered by the deception.)"
Joseph Indig escorted the 30 children who did not receive certificates to Italy, and from there, to Switzerland.

 

Event Note

In 1942, Josef Indig smuggled 30 children into Italy, and, in 1943, after the German occupation of Italy, he took them across the border to Switzerland.

Event Note

Joseph Ithai Indig and the children went to Zagreb, in the German zone, where Jews were being arrested.
An Italian official told him, "Bring them into the Italian zone. We are Hitler's allies but we do not persecute Jews."
The Italian official arranged for Ithai to take the children to the province of Lubiana in the Italian zone, where the Italian Jewish Relief Organization gave him money to rent an old castle, Lesno Brdo.
When the Germans took over the Italian zone, the children were moved to Italy.

Event Note

In July 18, 1942, Josef Indig and the children he was escorting boarded a train to Italy, not knowing how or where they would be living; he was simply told to take the train to Venezia.
In Venezia, Josef Indig was told that arrangements had been made for the children to live in Nonantola.
Mario Finzi told him, "With the help of the priests of the Abbey at Nonantola, arrangements have been made for the children to live in the Villa Emma, an empty mansion."

Event Note

Josef Indig escorted the children to Bex-Les-Bains, changing trains in Milano.

[2a]
Boat 1945   Josef Indig escorted his 30 charges to Palestine

Event Note

After the war, Josef Indig and the 30 children boarded a boat for Palestine.

 
Aliyah 1945    

 
Membership   קיבוץ גת kibbutz Gat, שפלת יהודה, יואב, הדרום, ישראל  

 
Death 1998   Josef Indig Ithai died at age 80 years

 
Burial 1998 קיבוץ גת kibbutz Gat, שפלת יהודה, יואב, הדרום, ישראל  

 

Source References

  1. Joskos Kinder, Flucht und Alija durch Europa 1940-1943. Josef Indigs Bericht
  2. Jews in Italy under Fascist and Nazi rule, 1922-1945
    1. Page: 184

Pedigree

    1. איתי (‎Indig Ithai), Josef