Yosef Offer

Yosef Offer was born in 1929 in Oradea

Yosef Offer was born Henrik Hersh in 1929 in Oradea, in northern Transylvania. In 1944, after the German occupation of Hungary, he was sent with the Jews of his city to Auschwitz. He survived as a forced laborer in an aircraft factory, and he was the only one of his family to survive.

When he was freed in April 1945, he swore to become a pilot. He reached the country in July 1946 on the immigrant ship Haganah and was held in the Atlit camp. He then joined Kibbutz Afikim, where he met his wife Hava, and took the name Yosef Offer.

In 1947 he joined the Golani Brigade and fought in the battles for Tiberias. He was among the first members of the Israeli Air Force and graduated from its first flight course held entirely in the country. He became a flight instructor and served in the 103rd Squadron, which he commanded from 1963.

In 1966 he became the IDF air attaché in Britain, and in 1969 he left the IDF. He then worked as a captain at El Al until he retired. He wrote books mostly about flying, including the science fiction novel Zohar HaArgaman in 1970, and he died of cancer in 2003.