German Evangelical father in Israel honors fallen IDF son during Holocaust remembrance journey

Gideon Bayer, a resident of the northern Israeli town of Ma’alot, walked the grounds of Auschwitz in Poland last month, remembering that his own parents had dedicated their lives to comforting Holocaust survivors in the wake of World War II. But this year, he also walked in memory of his own son, Urija, an IDF commando who died on Dec. 17, 2023, from injuries sustained during a battle with Hamas in Khan Younis.

Gideon is the son of Evangelical Christian German émigrés who came to Israel after World War II to serve Holocaust survivors. On Dec. 17, 2025 – the second anniversary of Urija's death – he journeyed to Poland as part of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) “Witnesses in Uniform” program.

As a native German speaker, Bayer spoke through an interpreter during our interview. He proudly noted that his other children have also served in the IDF, even though, as non-citizen permanent residents, they were not compelled to enlist. He also shared personal memories of his parents, his visit to the site of the infamous concentration camp at Auschwitz, and how his son’s death in defense of Israel briefly challenged his own faith in God.

Gideon’s parents moved to Israel, sensing God’s call to be a living embodiment of Isaiah 40:1, “Comfort, comfort my people.” He helped his mom and dad run the nursing home they founded in Ma’alot, about one hour north of Mt. Carmel. Gideon met his wife, Nellie, when she came to serve at the home for Holocaust survivors a year after nursing school, and they have continued his parents’ mission

Gideon said that on his trek to Auschwitz, he joined soldiers and bereaved families on a journey designed to bear witness to the unimaginable atrocities of the Holocaust in a post–October 7th world.

“As I was walking through Auschwitz, I thought about the stories I had heard from my parents and the survivors they had worked with,” Gideon shared. “I thought to myself, ‘I am walking where they walked back then.’”

Bayer and Nellie raised their children to believe in Jesus and to serve the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. While his Christian faith remains strong, he was candid about the impact Urija’s death in combat had on him.

“I was confident as a believing Christian that nothing would happen to him. That if we prayed, and other Christian communities in Germany and Israel were praying, God had to keep all of our soldiers safe. And He did keep Urija safe until the time he was injured. I kept hoping that God would perform a miracle for us, but that did not happen.”

As a father myself, I asked Gideon how he was dealing with the heartbreak and grief, even two years after his son was killed.

“Sometimes my brothers and sisters in Christ tell me that because I’m a believer, it is easier [to deal with loss.] The pain I still feel – and my family still feels – for our loss is really large,” he told me.

Even two years later, he said, the quiet in his home without Urija “reminds us every day that he is not here. Nevertheless, we know God is in control always.”

In that emotional reality, the Bayer family is like thousands of other families throughout Israel who continue to cope with sadness over the loss of a loved one after the brutal Hamas Oct. 7 attack. But Gideon is quick to point out that life must go on.

With his youngest son Eliav now serving as an IDF paratrooper, he reminded me that he continues to trust in God. “Even after Urija was killed, it became clear that God does not serve us, but we serve him. God does not exist to give me a nice life.”

Amid his own emotional journey, Bayer remains steadfast in his faith and his support of the Jewish people and Israel… and he encourages Christians around the world to rally to their aid.

“Those of us who love Jesus should love the people of Israel,” he declared. “They are not a perfect people, or a people who always do everything right all the time, but God loves them, and that should motivate believers around the world to love and pray for the people of Israel and to give as they are able to support the work of the FIDF.” 

He urged those he has reached through interviews like ours, especially in America, to learn more by visiting www.BlessIsraelsSoldiers.org.

At the conclusion of our time together, we prayed for one another, and Gideon said he would continue to stand on the word of God and remain strong, thanking the many people around the world who are praying for him and for families like his throughout Israel.