Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau visits the grave of Feodore Mikhailichenko, his non-Jewish savior during the Holocaust, in Rostov, Russia. Photo: Lubavitch.com.

Former Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau visited the grave of his Holocaust savior on Aug. 10 in Rostov, Russia, the Lubavitch News Service reported.

Feodore Mikhailichenko, a non-Jewish prisoner, protected Lau—then 5 years old—at the Buchenwald concentration camp. Lau connected with the late Mikhailichenko’s daughters in 2008 after years of failed attempts to reunite with his rescuer.

On Aug. 12, Lau participated in a 500-person march marking the 70th anniversary of a march in Rostov during which the Nazis murdered 27,000 people, including both Jews and Soviet citizens. Lau also visited the grave of Rabbi Sholom Dov Ber, the fifth Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and during Shabbat at Chabad of Rostov “inspired listeners to become involved and engaged in Jewish life,” according to Rabbi Chaim Danzinger, head of the local Chabad center.