Uri Orlev was born in 1931 in
Warsaw, Poland, the son of a physician. During
World War II, his father was taken captive by the Russians and he lived with his mother in the
Warsaw Ghetto until she was killed by the
Nazis. A relative hid him and his brother in the ghetto until he was caught by the Germans and deported to the
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1943. As a prisoner in Bergen-Belsen, he wrote and recited poetry which would later be published by
Yad Vashem in 2005. He
survived the Holocaust and was liberated by the British Army in 1945. He and his brother emigrated to Israel and were placed in kibbutz
Ginegar. They were joined by their father in 1954. After finishing high school on the kibbutz, Orlev served in the
Israel Defense Forces as an infantryman. Upon completing his regular military service, Orlev returned to the kibbutz and began working in the cowsheds. He continued to serve as a reservist and subsequently fought in the
Suez Crisis,
Six-Day War, and
Yom Kippur War. One of his sons, Itamar Orlev, is also a writer and made his debut with the novel
Bandit in 2015. He died on 26 July 2022. ==Awards and critical acclaim==