At an early age Haim joined his two brothers, Yeshaiyahu and Joseph, who were members of the local ken of the movement. In 1943 he moved to Budapest, worked as a watchmaker and took part in the activities of the movement.
On 19.3.1944, the day the Germans invaded Hungary, following instructions from the movement, Haim went underground. He obtained authentic Christian documents at the offices of the Population Registry. After ghettos were set up in the country towns, Haim was sent to Debrecen with a bagful of money and forged documents for his comrades in the movement. Five girls managed to reach the capital. Donning a “Levente” uniform, he was sent with his brother Yeshaiyahu to take his parents and sisters out of the Nyirbátor ghetto and bring them back to Budapest. However, they refused to leave and eventually were deported to Auschwitz.
Haim was supposed to cross the border into Romania within the framework of the tiyul but instead, in June 1944, he left Budapest on the train of the Relief and Rescue Committee and arrived in Switzerland.
In September 1945 he legally made aliya. Haim served for thirty years in the Israel Defense Forces in the armored corps and the supply corps. He was discharged with the rank of brigadier general in 1978. He was then appointed as head of the purchasing and production department in the Ministry of Defense and for five years was head of the purchasing delegation in France.
Haim resided in Ramat-Gan.
