Lechner, David

David, son of Ita and Yosef Lechner, was born in 1917, in the city of Teplicena, in Bohemia (then Austria) to a traditional family. At the age of 13 he moved with his family to Vienna, where he joined Hechalutz as a member of the Hashomer Hatzair-Netzach youth movement. He was a member for five years, and spent two years in training in Yugoslavia and Austria. For several years he was imprisoned in the Dachau camp and tortured there. Thanks to an immigration permit he received, on January 2, 1939, he immigrated to Israel with his girlfriend. Upon his immigration, he immediately joined the Kinneret group and became one of its activists. He was one of the founders of the choir and orchestra for string instruments of the group and was interested in literature. David worked in the banana industry and was a diligent and perceptive worker. When the War of Independence began, he was recruited to the Palmach, where he took part in battles in the Jordan Valley, and on May 16, 1948, the Syrians invaded the Jordan Valley and seized control of some of the area’s outposts. At first the town of Tzemach fell, and finally the police station and the defenders retreated under the Syrian fire towards Degania. In this battle David fell, on the ninth of Iyar 5708 (18.5.1948). He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Degania Aleph. He left behind a wife, Hannah, two daughters and a son.