Bella Papierowicz was born in 1918 in Augustov, northeastern Poland. At the age of 21 she made Aliyah to the Land of Israel, where she studied under Professor Martin Buber.
As open hostilities which were quickly degrading into all-out war continued, travel to and from the Mount Scopus university and hospital were only possible by armored convoy. On the day of December 31st, 1947, one such convoy came under attack, the driver and several passengers, being injured by bullets. Bella, who was escorting the convoy, was killed on the spot, and was buried in the Mount of Olives. The entirety of Bella’s immediate family perished in the Holocaust, and though she had distant relatives in Israel, they were, until recently, unaware that Bella ever made it to Israel.
69 years later, after a request by the good people of the Giving a Face to the Fallen project, we’ve located the grave site, and enabled the family to reconnect with their long-lost heroic relative.
The memorial ceremony will take place at the grave site, at 4:00pm, May 31st.
Bella Papierowicz’s info on our site
Bella Papierowicz’s bio in the Ministry of Defense’s memorial site (Hebrew)