Sara Hauptman, a Holocaust survivor who served as the liaison between Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Allied liberators and concentration camp survivors, passed away Dec. 17, 2014, in El Paso, Texas.
Rabbi Mel Glazer officiated at the Dec. 23 service at the Shrine of Remembrance Chapel in Colorado Springs. Interment followed at Sons of Israel Cemetery. Shrine of Remembrance made the arrangements.
Sara became a source of inspiration for thousands as she began to recount her story, the family said. Whether she shared it in classrooms, lecture halls, televised broadcasts or private conversations, she made sure that we would never forget, the family said.
The same can be said about Sara. For every life she touched, every story she told and anyone who reads her book The Lioness of Judah: A Jewish Lion Tamers Memoir of Resistance and Survival, Sara Hauptman will never be forgotten.
Sara was born Aug. 15, 1918, in Brussels.
An exceptionally courageous and outspoken woman, she fought the Nazis in the Belgian underground and somehow maintained her spirit when she underwent unspeakable horror as one of Dr. Joseph Mengeles twins.
Sara, who served as a liaison between Gen. Eisenhower, the Allied liberators and camp survivors after WW II, immigrated to the US and settled in El Paso, Texas.
Married to Nathan Hauptman, she moved to Colorado Springs where she resided for 30 years.
Sara returned to El Paso in the final years of her life.
She enjoyed cooking, baking, fishing, needlepoint and talking to friends on the porch in the evening.
Sara loved listening to her rabbi and became an active member of the Colorado Springs Jewish community.
Throughout her life, she attracted many people who would call her Mom, the family said.
Her ability to connect to people will only be outlived by the memories of those she touched.
Sara is survived by her son Guy (Margie) Hauptman; brothers Jack and Bernard and sisters Esther and Mariette; grandchildren Simeon, Esther and Jacob; and eight great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband Nathan and daughter Monique.
Contributions may be made in her honor to the El Paso Holocaust Museum, 715 N. Oregon St., El Paso, TX; or Temple Shalom, 1523 E. Monument St., Colorado Springs, CO 80909.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
