Avraham Carmi was born in Krzeszowice, Poland in 1928, the child of Bezalel and Lea. After the German invasion, his family fled to his uncle Moshe Posner, who managed the Warsaw Jewish cemetery.

In the deportation of summer of 1942, Avraham and his mother were taken to the Umschlagplatz, the departure point for deportations. The Germans discovered Avraham’s relatives hiding in the cemetery, and shot them.

Avraham and his mother were smuggled from the Umschlagplatz but Avraham’s father was deported to Treblinka and murdered.

During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in the spring of 1943, the Germans took Avraham and his mother again to the Umschlagplatz. Avraham, his mother, and his uncle Moshe Posner were sent to Majdanek, where Lea was murdered.

Avraham and Moshe were then taken to a labor camp. Moshe watched over Avraham, shared his food with him, held his hand at night and tried to give him hope. Avraham and Moshe were later sent to Birkenau. During the selektion, Moshe told Abraham to stand up straight and pinch his cheeks so that he would look healthy and fit for work. From Birkenau, Avraham and Moshe were sent to various labor camps. Moshe, who covered for Avraham and saved him every step of the way, died of exhaustion and disease just two days before liberation.

In 1945 Avraham immigrated to Eretz Israel. He fought to defend the Etzion Bloc during the War of Independence and was taken prisoner by the Jordanians.

Avraham and Rivka, who survived Bergen-Belsen, have three children, nine grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.

Avraham Carmi lit one of the torches at the official state memorial ceremony on Holocaust Memorial Day.