After World War I , the yeshivah moved from Slutsk to Kletsk in Belarus . With the outbreak of World War II , Kotler and the yeshivah relocated to Vilna , then the major refuge of most '' yeshivoth '' from the occupied areas . Reportedly Kotler encouraged the yeshiva to stay in Vilna despite the approaching Nazis . Most of his students were murdered by the Nazis . Some did not listen to him and escaped to China . He was brought to America in 1941 by the Vaad Hatzalah rescue organization , and guided it during The Holocaust . At first , he settled in New York City 's Upper West Side , and in 1949 , he moved to the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn
The Holocaust
The Holocaust
Aharon Kotler