יוכי ריץ-אולבסקי, יו”ר הארגון, נפטרה Jochi Ritz-Olewski, chair, passed away
בצער רב אנו מודיעים על פטירתה של
יוכי ריץ-אולבסקי
יושבת ראש הארגון מאז ינואר 2022
ילידת מחנה העקורים ברגן-בלזן
בת רפאל ורחל אולבסקי ז”ל
לוחמת לשימור זיכרון השואה
הלוייתה תתקיים ביום שני 12.2.2024 ג’ אדר א’ תשפ”ד
בשעה 13:00 בית העלמין החדש בכפר נחמן, רעננה
יושבים “שבעה” ברחוב ביאליק 35, קומה 5, דירה 18, רעננה
שלישי-חמישי 14:00-10:00 20:00-16:00 שישי 14:00-10:00
מוצ”ש 21:00-19:00
תנחומינו לבני המשפחה
הנהלת הארגון
לקשיור אודות חייה: https://raanana.mynet.co.il/local_news/article/h1oyduenp
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of
Jochi Ritz-Olewski
Chairperson since January 2022
Born in the DP camp Bergen-Belsen
Daughter of Rafael and Rachela Olewski z”l
Fighter for the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust
Her funeral will be held on Monday, February 12, 2024
At 13:00 the new cemetery in Kfar Nachman, Ra’anana
Sitting “Shiva” at 35 Bialik Street, 5th floor, apartment 18, Ra’anana
Tuesday-Thursday 10:00-14:00, 16:00-20:00
Friday 10:00-14:00, Saturday 19:00-21:00
Our condolences to the family
The board of the organization
Jochi Ritz – Olewski 1947-2024
She was born on March 15, 1947, in Germany, at the Colonel Glynn-Hughes hospital in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp under the name of Yocheved-Rivka Olewski. She had no foreign citizenship except for an Israeli passport.
Her parents, Rachel Zelmanowicz and Rafael-Gershon Olewski, were married on January 15, 1946, in the city of Celle, a small and picturesque town near the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.
Rabbi Israel Moshe Olewski, “The Celler Rabbi”, her father’s brother, wed her parents in the synagogue in Celle, 20 km from the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, from which they were liberated on April 15, 1945 by the British army at the end of the Second World War. Her father was a prominent figure in the life of this DP camp. In April 1949, the family immigrated to Israel on the “Independence” ship.
At first, they lived in the “Craftsman Center”, a poor neighborhood in Bnei Brak, in a shared apartment with two other families. Each family lived in a separate room, with the kitchen and bathroom shared by all. Jochi lived there until the age of 7 years and then they moved to Ramat Gan.
At the end of 1950, her brother Yehuda-Arie was born.
She was in a religious kindergarten and in a religious elementary school.
Being gifted, she “jumped a grade” – skipped compulsory kindergarten and went straight to first grade.
In Ramat Gan she studied at the “Yahalom” school, then at the “Hamerkaz” school and then at the “Ohel Shem” gymnasium, which was one of the best in Israel.
She was a member of the scout movement – a fact that affected her entire life.
During her childhood and teenage years, she traveled abroad many times – which significantly helped her command of many languages. She was fluent in 9 languages at different levels: Hebrew, German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Yiddish, Polish and Latin.
She did her military service in a classified unit in the Intelligence Corps and there she met Odded Ritz, her husband who died in 2020 after a years-long battle with cancer. He was an officer who established the famous 8200 unit.
During her military service she was given the nickname Jochi and this is her name today.
She studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and French and a teaching certificate.
Her Master’s degree is in public administration (with honors) at Bar-Ilan University.
In 1969 she married Odded and they moved to Haifa.
She worked at the Technion Institute as the coordinator of the pre-academic preparatory school for discharged soldiers, soldiers in regular service and farmers.
Her two daughters were born in Haifa: Ayelet-Eliena (1971) and Ronit (1976).
In 1978 they moved to Ra’anana and she worked at the Open University until her retirement as the vice dean of academic studies.
In 1980, her son Uri-Eliezer was born.
Her parents died at a very young age: father aged 67 and mother aged 65.
She was always a proud and loving mother of three children and grandmother to 8 granddaughters and grandsons.
Her eldest daughter Ayelet married Yohanan Benvenishti and they have three daughters: Maya, Noam and Shira.
Her second daughter Ronit is married to Aviv Bueno and they have two daughters – Amit and Daniela, and a son – Ido.
Her son Uri married Dana and they have two sons – Gal and Ran.
She always lived in the fast lane of life, had a lively family and social life, organized trips in Israel for her friends from the Scout movement, and served voluntarily as the first chairwoman of the Bergen-Belsen Survivors organization in Israel, of which her father was the head for many years. She fought for the survivors and for the preservation of the tradition of the organization among the generations to come. She was the editor-in-chief of the international magazine “Our Voice”, which follows the path of its predecessor from the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp in Yiddish “Unser Shtime” which was initiated and edited by her late father. She also recruited her brother Arie Olewski to help manage the organization.
Jochi also was active in many different social projects.