'They chose life': Remembering the Bricha – the journey of Holocaust survivors to Israel after WWII

Dr. Miri Nehari of the Habricha Legacy Association met with Christian journalist Paul Calvert to recount the post-Holocaust saga of the “Bricha” – a clandestine movement that transported Holocaust survivors across Europe toward the land of Israel.

Nehari explained that the Bricha began in Europe between 1945 and 1949, from the end of World War II until after the establishment of the State of Israel.

The leaders of the Bricha were responsible for organizing the migration of approximately 300,000 Jewish refugees, survivors of the Holocaust, from Eastern Europe to the ports of the Mediterranean, on their way to Israel. They also organized mutual aid and plotted paths to British-controlled Mandatory Palestine.

Her own family history is part of the story. Nehari's father, Zvi Melnitzer (Netzer), survived the forced inhumane labor camps known as the Gulag, aided Jewish children in Tehran, and, at the request of Mossad leaders, returned to Europe to head the Bricha in Poland.

“So Habricha was…is a movement that was started by the Holocaust survivors, which I think... it’s a nice way to say they had to choose, and they chose life.” Survivors forged new identities and crossed borders on foot, by truck, and by train, stopping in Displaced Persons (DP) camps before moving on to Mediterranean ports. From there, they embarked on the sea leg of the journey – the Ha’apala (Aliyah Bet or unauthorized immigration) – voyages that were often intercepted by the British and diverted to Cyprus.

Nehari told Calvert that the refugees did not want to stay in Europe saying, “They refused to stay, most of them, not all of them, refused to stay in Europe, which had become the great Jewish graveyard.”

Under her father Netzer’s leadership, escape routes were organized northward to Germany and southward through Czechoslovakia and Austria, enabling many Holocaust survivors to move toward safety and a future. After the war, he went on to serve in Nativ, a covert Israeli government body that assisted Jews trapped behind the Iron Curtain in making aliyah (immigrating to Israel).

The interview highlighted British policy that impeded Jewish movement by land and sea, despite extensive intelligence about Bricha networks. Only a handful of ships were able to pass the blockades; most were stopped, and their passengers, known as “ma’apilim” (illegal immigrants) were sent to Cyprus.

However, the Bricha’s resourcefulness often surpassed official efforts.

When asked about the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and the current surge of antisemitism worldwide, Nehari drew a significant distinction from the Bricha era.

“The difference is that we have a country, a country in the family of the countries of the world.” The practical lesson she urges for Israelis is simple and humane: “I'm telling us Israelis, if new people come to Israel, receive them well.”

Regarding Christians, she says, “I think Christians and anybody, any good people, many Christians are good people, should fight antisemitism.” She also said she prays that “the war would end and that we would come to live in peace” with Israel's Arab neighbors in the Middle East region.

Nehari said the mission of Habricha is to preserve the memory of this heroic chapter of Jewish history and resilience, and to ensure it receives proper recognition. The organization is working to develop educational initiatives and, eventually, to establish a museum. Run entirely by volunteers, the association welcomes public support.

Nehari is a clinical-educational-health psychologist and the head of the Habricha Legacy Association.

Click below to listen to Paul Calvert's full interview with Dr. Miri Nehari.