Liven, Dan (Theodor)

He was born on 19 May 1919 in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Dan was the son of an assimilated Jewish family that had been involved for generations in Austrian society and culture. His grandfather was a prominent member of the community in Vienna and warned at the time of Herzl’s “hallucinations.” His father was a well-known doctor in Vienna. Dan attended a high school in Austria. His knowledge of the Land of Israel was few and he lacked Zionist consciousness, however, at a certain moment he decided to detach himself from all the familiar, safe and beloved in the country where he was educated, and to immigrate to the Land of Israel. In January 1939 Dan came to Israel as an immigrant. Immediately upon his arrival, he joined the Alonim group. His friends in Alonim wrote about his image as they saw it: “Innocence, simplicity in relationships, welcoming, devotion and faithful love to man and society.” From the moment of his arrival, he joined the group with great enthusiasm and spent his nights and weekends devoting himself to learning Hebrew. Every word or phrase he acquired in Hebrew filled him with joy. As a member of the kibbutz, he joined the ranks of the Haganah. On March 13, 1939, Dan and two of his teammates left the camp at Shikh-Abirak on the way to Couscous. On the new road that was in its construction, a mine was buried and the three went over it. The two friends died on the same day. Dan suffered agonizingly at Hadassah Hospital in Haifa and died the next day. On the 23rd of Adar 5639 (March 14, 1939) he was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery of Alonim, in front of the flourishing Yishuv. Dan’s uncle said that even during the pain in the hospital, Dan mentioned the group and its members. And in those very days Dan’s father died on the illegal immigration ship Eretz Israel. A member of the Alonim, a member of the Gush Committee and Dan’s uncle eulogized the fallen. His friends wrote about him in a booklet he had published in memory of the fallen from Alonim: “… from his first day in our midst, in the work, at the end of the building and wrestling, opened his eyes, saw a great light in his life. Loved, thanked everyone – and went to the stake. “