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Refusal to Forget
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
October 23, 2026, Israel
An old member of our high school, now a rabbi, got up to speak about living an exceptional life, at a certain point in his interesting, entertaining, and humorous talk, he became a little less jovial and said, and there is a topic I probably think about more than it is healthy for me. We all knew what he was referring to, the entire audience nodded in agreement; Auschwitz, trains, gas chambers, what would we do if were there? How would we react, respond?
Many in the crowd were children of Survivors, all had family who went through the camps, the lagers, the slave battalions, the ghettos.
My mother, may she rest in peace, would remember Cousin Steve, Zoli, Zoltan, a survivor from Hungary. She said he would get together with friends, all survivors, and they would say, "We will not talk about it today", but within five minutes it was all about the "camps", the war, Auschwitz.
Rudolf Reder (April 4, 1881 – October 6, 1977) was one of only two survivors of the Bełżec extermination camp. His testimony after the war became very well known. He submitted a deposition to the Main Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in January 1946 in Kraków. In terms of the number of Polish Jews who perished in its gas chambers, Bełżec had the third highest death toll among the six Nazi death camps located in occupied Poland, estimated between 500,000 and 600,000 men, women and children. Only Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka killed more people during the Holocaust.
The only other known survivor of Bełżec, Chaim Hirszman, was shot by anti-communists in Poland after the war. But Reder, a Polish Jew, refused to forget, he refused to be forgotten, he refused to disappear. The crime of Bełżec, so well hidden by the Germans towards the end of the war, would not be erased.
It nearly was, this was one of the most successful clean up jobs in history. The bodies were exhumed and burnt, the gas chambers dismantled, the barracks taken apart brick by brick, the killing fields plowed over, and a farm created in its place. All survivors were killed, no witness remained, but Rudolf Reder managed to escape. He eventually made it to Canada, but he refused to let the matter disappear. He believed in the Refusal to Forget.
Bełżec was brought back to life, and now it is a major monument, near Lublin, Poland. The half million Jews killed there are no longer forgotten, and they speak to us. Reder speaks to his and this is their message.
It can happen again.
Silence enables Violence.
What breaks the cycle of violence is memory, testimony, the refusal to forget, the refusal to do nothing.
Rudolf Rader understood this, as the only survivor of Bełżec he felt his responsibility. A quiet life in Canada, forget the past, bury it, or relive it, again and again, as he spoke, and testified, so that future generations will know.
I will not let you forget. I want you to keep Asking Questions, I want you to keep seeking the Truth.
IKI Krav Maga began in my mind, as a small child haunted by nightmares of a past that I was born with. I have channeled this to a mission for all humanity. Reder was helped by two women after he escaped, a Pole and a Lithuanian. A German officer who witnessed these events firsthand also worked hard to bring to this to the attention of the world, Kurt Gerstein, I have written of Kurt Gerstein. Righteousness is not limited to one nation.
This Refusal to Forget is a cornerstone of our training, our Krav Maga. There is crime, there is rape, there is personal and home violations, but yet people do not take action, Krav Maga schools struggle, and the question is why? The answer was given to use by Rudolf Reder.
Most people choose to forget, to live quietly in "Canada", Reder Refused to Forget.
This Refusal to Forget is what makes our Krav Maga real, and effective. This is why we are never content. We are constantly challenging ourselves. We remember the real crime, and we will not let it go. This concept is a central tenant of Judaism, Yizkor, to remember. The Bible teachers, Remember what Amalek did to you when you were weak and tired. We remember; the crime, the violence, the stabbings, the shooting, and we train.
Remembrance, the Refusal to Forget, is a key factor in our Krav Maga training. Rudolf Reder did not let the world forget the suffering of half a million Jews at Bełżec, he forced the world to confront this ugly truth. We will not let you forget the dangers that lurk out there, those who seek to harm you. Our Refusal to Forget is your safety.
Moshe Katz, 8th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt Hall of fame, USA and Europe.
Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz
What is the cultural background of Krav Maga? What makes it unique? What makes the Israeli military so effective? Why are Israeli security systems used all over the world?
What are the Biblical origins of Krav Maga and who was the first Krav Maga instructor?
What weapons and military strategies did our Biblical ancestors use?
How has Krav Maga developed in Israel and what are its goals?
All that and more in this unique book.
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