Editing Yitzchak Nemes (section)

== Life History ==
R' Yitzchak was born on 13 Iyar 5684/1924 in Munich, Germany, to his father R' Aharon Meir, who greatly assisted Jews during World War II. During his childhood years, he stayed in Helsinki, Finland. When he was still a young child, World War II broke out, and his father R' Aharon Meir helped many Jewish refugees who arrived in Finland.

When the Baltic Sea froze over in the winter of 5701/1941, and refugees stopped arriving, his parents decided to leave Europe and move to the United States. At the end of the winter, the family reached the city of Petsamo in northern Finland, from where they sailed on the ship "Carolina Thorden." During the voyage, R' Yitzchak went up to the bridge to watch the sunset, but remembered that he had not yet prayed the Mincha prayer. A few minutes after he descended from the bridge and began praying, the ship was bombed by German aircraft, and the bridge was the first to be hit. The entire ship began to catch fire, and the captain sent out distress calls. A British warship that was nearby miraculously rescued the passengers. The survivors were housed on an island near the coast, within a military base.

After several months of waiting, on the night of Pesach Seder, the passengers received notice that a ship would depart for the United States on the coming Shabbat. Because of the sanctity of Shabbat, his father R' Aharon decided to remain on the island, despite the danger, until another opportunity that would not interfere with Shabbat observance. Two weeks later, they boarded another ship, and then discovered that the first ship had been sunk by the Germans.