01In brief
Ernst Israel Bornstein (died 1978) was a Holocaust survivor and physician who lived in Germany after World War II. He survived imprisonment in seven labor and concentration camps and five transit camps between 1939 and 1945, and was liberated by American soldiers in 1945. His memoir, originally published in German as Die Lange Nacht, is an unusually detailed first-hand account that records people, events, and the gradual descent into systematic brutality. His daughter Noemie Lopian later translated the work into English as The Long Night, helping preserve his testimony for a wider audience.
02Life and Survival
Ernst Israel Bornstein was a Holocaust survivor and a doctor living in Germany.[1] Between 1939 and 1945, he was imprisoned in seven labor and concentration camps and five transit camps.[1] He was liberated by American soldiers in 1945.[2]
After the war, Bornstein raised a family in Germany. His daughter Noemie Lopian later recalled him as a loving father to his three children.[1] She recalled that they would run out of bed when they heard his key in the door and that they walked with him to synagogue on Saturday mornings, regarding that shared time as special.[1] Bornstein also took an elderly German woman into the family after the war, which Lopian interpreted as showing his lack of hatred despite what Germans had done to him and his family.[1]
Bornstein also established a small Holocaust memorial, its inscription reading: "To honour the dead and to warn the living."[3] He died in 1978.[1]
03The Memoir: Die Lange Nacht
Bornstein wrote his account immediately after the war, while his memories were still fresh.[1] The result was a work of exceptional documentary precision: he named camp personnel and bystanders, recorded specific incidents, and identified the roles individuals played within the camp system.[1] One passage from the memoir illustrates this quality vividly — prisoners who had stolen grain concealed it in tied trouser legs and shirt sleeves; when a search uncovered the corn, those caught were ordered against a barn wall and shot in the neck by the Group Leader.[1] The passage exemplifies the memoir's precise, unsparing detail.
Bornstein wrote in an almost detached manner, recording events with restraint rather than burdening readers with his personal anguish — a quality that lends the memoir the character of testimony as much as personal narrative.[1] The account traces the Holocaust's violence as a gradual progression: early encounters with Nazi soldiers handing chocolates to children, a first labor camp that was relatively humane, and then a slow deterioration into routine brutality, mass death, and the chaos of the death marches.[3]
The memoir was originally published in German as Die Lange Nacht and received positive reviews.[1] An English translation, titled The Long Night, was later prepared by Lopian so that the account could reach a broader, international audience.[1] The English edition was launched in 2017, with a speech by Sajid Javid framing the book as both a preservation of first-hand testimony and a warning against political extremism and antisemitism as the memories of Holocaust survivors fade.[3]
04Legacy and Noemie Lopian's Mission
Lopian said Bornstein never spoke to her about his wartime experiences. She did not know her father was a Holocaust survivor while she was growing up, and he died in 1978 when she was just twelve years old.[1] She encountered the manuscript only as an adult and described the discovery as a revelation — a window into a life her father had kept entirely hidden from her.[1] "The least I can do is perpetuate his memory and his story," she has said. "Otherwise, I feel like I'm killing him again."[1]
Driven by that sense of obligation, Lopian undertook the English translation and became associated with Holocaust education.[2] She has presented her father's memoir to university students in educational talks focused on the dangers of political extremism and antisemitism, carrying the warning Bornstein encoded in both his writing and his memorial inscription into contemporary public life.[2] In this way, the memoir fulfills the purpose Bornstein articulated in stone: to honour the dead and to warn the living.[3]
Sources
- 1USC Shoah Foundation (accessed September 17, 2026)
- 2Jewish News (accessed September 17, 2026)
- 3Jewish News — Sajid Javid (accessed September 17, 2026)
IsraelPedia Question & Answers
Who was Ernst Israel Bornstein?
Ernst Israel Bornstein was a Holocaust survivor and physician who lived in Germany after World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, he was imprisoned in seven labor and concentration camps and five transit camps, before being liberated by American soldiers in 1945. He later wrote a memoir about his experiences, originally published in German as Die Lange Nacht, and died in 1978.
What makes Ernst Israel Bornstein's memoir stand out among Holocaust accounts?
Bornstein wrote his memoir immediately after the war, while his memories were still fresh, producing a work of exceptional documentary precision. He named camp personnel and bystanders, recorded specific incidents, and identified the roles individuals played within the camp system. He wrote in an almost detached, restrained manner, lending the memoir the character of testimony as much as personal narrative, and the account traces the Holocaust's violence as a gradual progression from early encounters to routine brutality and death marches.
How did Ernst Israel Bornstein live after the war?
After the war, Bornstein raised a family in Germany and practiced as a doctor. His daughter Noemie Lopian recalled him as a loving father who walked with his children to synagogue on Saturday mornings. Bornstein also took an elderly German woman into the family, which Lopian interpreted as showing his lack of hatred despite what he had endured. He additionally established a small Holocaust memorial inscribed with the words: "To honour the dead and to warn the living."
How did The Long Night, the English translation of Bornstein's memoir, come about?
The English translation, titled The Long Night, was prepared by Bornstein's daughter Noemie Lopian so that his account could reach a broader, international audience. The English edition was launched in 2017, with a speech by Sajid Javid framing the book as both a preservation of first-hand testimony and a warning against political extremism and antisemitism as the memories of Holocaust survivors fade.
How did Noemie Lopian discover her father's memoir, and what has she done with it?
Lopian did not know her father was a Holocaust survivor while she was growing up, and he died in 1978 when she was just twelve years old. She encountered the manuscript only as an adult, describing the discovery as a revelation and a window into a life her father had kept entirely hidden from her. Driven by a sense of obligation to preserve his memory, she undertook the English translation and has since presented the memoir to university students in educational talks focused on the dangers of political extremism and antisemitism.