Meir Brand was born in 1936 in Bochnia, Poland to a religious Jewish family. In 1941, he was deported along with his family to the Bochnia Ghetto. In August 1943, his parents sensed the ghetto was soon to be liquidated, and they decided to plan Meir's escape in order to leave a remnant of the family. They paid a Pole to take Meir and cousins Miriam and Itek on a three week journey by foot to the Slovak border. Meir managed to reach Budapest on his own by train, there joining refugee and orphan groups. In April 1944, he was located by Berta Davidovich, members of the Zionist Movement's undeground who had assumed a Christian identity, as Ilona Bogota. In June, Berta and Meir left Budapest on the "Kasztner train," reaching Bergen-Belsen, where they were liberated. Meir immigrated to Israel with the "Youth Aliyah" organization and was settled in the Neve Eitan kibbutz. In 1954 he enlisted to the Israel Defense Forces, serving in the Paratroopers Brigade's 890th Battalion. He took part in Israel's "Reprisal Operations", and fought in all of Israel's wars. Meir is married to Hannah, and they have three children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.