Latest news with #PolishJew
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Henry Brown obituary
My friend Henry Brown, who has died aged 85, was a South African and later British solicitor whose human rights work across nearly four decades reads like a South African anti-apartheid struggle 'Who's Who'. In the UK he also became a leader in the field of mediation. As a young attorney with Cape Town's leading civil rights firm, Frank, Bernadt and Joffe, he was involved in the trial of leaders of a dramatic march of 30,000 protesters from Langa township into the centre of the city in 1960. Henry, barely into his 20s, was on his way. In 1967 he consulted with the imprisoned Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, on one occasion when the then ANC leader and future president was charged with slacking in the notorious salt mine. The charge was withdrawn after it was reported in the local newspaper. Henry, born in Muizenberg, on the Western Cape coast, was head boy at the local school. His father, Sam Brown, ran a photographic business, while his mother, Leah (nee Harris), a Polish Jew who had been brought to South Africa as a child to escape persecution, was a secretary. Henry qualified as an attorney in Cape Town, before obtaining a part-time degree in history and political science at the University of South Africa (1964). In 1971 he and his wife, Elsa (nee Solomon), a social worker whom he had married in 1962, moved to north London. Henry set up practice with an old friend, Arnold Simanowitz, in a dingy office opposite the Old Vic theatre in Waterloo. They were involved in a secret network transferring payments to lawyers in political trials in South African courts, originating from Canon John Collins of St Paul's cathedral. In 1980 Henry moved to Birkbeck Montagu's, a long-established Anglo-South African City firm. His clients included radical southern African groups mixed with the solicitor's standard daily fare. Henry recalled in his memoir, A Lawyer's Odyssey (2020), the time Birkbeck were discussing a merger with the old-school firm Penningtons, and he was asked by a partner if he minded that it acted for the Conservative party. Replied Henry: 'As long as you're OK with me acting for [Namibian freedom fighters] Swapo.' Mediation, the movement away from the at-times brutal and often costly adversarial system of the English courts, now became the focus of his professional life. A colleague, Lisa Parkinson, described his contribution to the development of this field, both here and internationally, as immense. In 2013 he was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the International Academy of Mediators for his 'dedicated service as a civil rights lawyer, mediator, teacher, writer and leader in dispute resolution reform throughout the world'. And yet, said colleagues, 'he was always … modest and good fun'. He co-authored (with Arthur Marriott) the standard work on civil and commercial alternative dispute resolution, ADR Principles and Practice (1993). After he retired from legal practice in 2005 (though he continued as a mediator for several years), he and Elsa moved to Whitstable, Kent. Elsa survives him, as do his children, Gavin, Jeremy and Lauren, and three grandchildren, Jacob, Joshua and Rifka.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Marian Turski, Auschwitz survivor who warned of danger of indifference, dies at 98
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Marian Turski, a Holocaust survivor who became a journalist and historian in postwar Poland and co-founded Warsaw's landmark Jewish history museum, died on Tuesday. He was 98. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews announced his death, describing him as a person of exceptional moral and intellectual qualities who always stood on the side 'of minorities, the excluded, the wronged.' 'An authority of global importance, an advocate of Polish-Jewish understanding, a publicist, a historian. A Polish Jew. A person without whom our museum would not exist,' the museum director, Zygmunt Stępiński, wrote in a statement. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Turski survived the Lodz ghetto, where he and his family were forced to live, two death marches and imprisonment at the Nazi German concentration camps Buchenwald and Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was in German-occupied Poland. In all, he lost 39 relatives in the Holocaust. Unlike many Jewish survivors who left postwar Poland, Turski chose to remain. He was on the political left his entire life, and was a member of the communist party. He was among a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors and spoke during observances last month marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. However, it was a stark warning about the dangers of indifference at the anniversary five years earlier that brought him international attention and raised his moral profile among his supporters. Turski said at the time that the Holocaust did not 'fall from the sky' all at once but took hold step by step as society's acceptance of small acts of discrimination eventually led to ghettos and extermination camps. He also called on people to not remain indifferent when minorities are discriminated against, when history is distorted and when 'any authority violates the existing social contract.' Many in Poland interpreted his words as a critique of the right-wing government in power at the time. However, those on the political right criticized him for using the Auschwitz anniversary to comment on the political situation, and some even suggested that Turski lacked the moral authority for such a warning because he belonged to Poland's communist party before 1989. Citing the words of another survivor, Roman Kent, Turski described what should be the Eleventh Commandment of the Bible: 'Though shalt not be indifferent.' Poland's conservative President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to Turski, saying: 'He consistently spoke about the need to cultivate sensitivity to evil. May his memory be honored!' Turski was born on June 26, 1926, as Mosze Turbowicz, and spent his childhood and teenage years in Lodz, where he attended a Hebrew language school. In 1944, his parents and brother were deported to the German Nazi camp Auschwitz, and he arrived there two weeks later in one of the last transports. His father and brother died in the gas chambers, while his mother was sent to work at the Bergen Belsen camp in northern Germany, and Turski was dispatched to work on roads in the Auschwitz-Birkenau area before being sent on two death marches. He was liberated at Terezin close to death from exhaustion and typhus. In September 1945, he returned to Poland, a committed communist who rejected an offer to go to the West and wanted to help build a socialist Poland. He used his last time on the stage at last month's Auschwitz anniversary observance to warn of the dangers of hatred and to recall that the number of those murdered was always far greater than the smaller group of survivors. 'We have always been a tiny minority,' Turski said. 'And now only a handful remain.'
The Independent
18-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Marian Turski, Auschwitz survivor who warned of danger of indifference, dies at 98
Marian Turski, a Holocaust survivor who became a journalist and historian in postwar Poland and co-founded Warsaw 's landmark Jewish history museum, died on Tuesday. He was 98. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews announced his death, describing him as a person of exceptional moral and intellectual qualities who always stood on the side 'of minorities, the excluded, the wronged.' 'An authority of global importance, an advocate of Polish-Jewish understanding, a publicist, a historian. A Polish Jew. A person without whom our museum would not exist,' the museum director, Zygmunt Stępiński, wrote in a statement. Turski survived the Lodz ghetto, where he and his family were forced to live, two death marches and imprisonment at the Nazi German concentration camps Buchenwald and Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was in German-occupied Poland. In all, he lost 39 relatives in the Holocaust. Unlike many Jewish survivors who left postwar Poland, Turski chose to remain. He was on the political left his entire life, and was a member of the communist party. He was among a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors and spoke during observances last month marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. However, it was a stark warning about the dangers of indifference at the anniversary five years earlier that brought him international attention and raised his moral profile among his supporters. Turski said at the time that the Holocaust did not 'fall from the sky' all at once but took hold step by step as society's acceptance of small acts of discrimination eventually led to ghettos and extermination camps. He also called on people to not remain indifferent when minorities are discriminated against, when history is distorted and when 'any authority violates the existing social contract.' Many in Poland interpreted his words as a critique of the right-wing government in power at the time. However, those on the political right criticized him for using the Auschwitz anniversary to comment on the political situation, and some even suggested that Turski lacked the moral authority for such a warning because he belonged to Poland's communist party before 1989. Citing the words of another survivor, Roman Kent, Turski described what should be the Eleventh Commandment of the Bible: 'Though shalt not be indifferent.' Poland's conservative President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to Turski, saying: 'He consistently spoke about the need to cultivate sensitivity to evil. May his memory be honored!' Turski was born on June 26, 1926, as Mosze Turbowicz, and spent his childhood and teenage years in Lodz, where he attended a Hebrew language school. In 1944, his parents and brother were deported to the German Nazi camp Auschwitz, and he arrived there two weeks later in one of the last transports. His father and brother died in the gas chambers, while his mother was sent to work at the Bergen Belsen camp in northern Germany, and Turski was dispatched to work on roads in the Auschwitz-Birkenau area before being sent on two death marches. He was liberated at Terezin close to death from exhaustion and typhus. In September 1945, he returned to Poland, a committed communist who rejected an offer to go to the West and wanted to help build a socialist Poland. He used his last time on the stage at last month's Auschwitz anniversary observance to warn of the dangers of hatred and to recall that the number of those murdered was always far greater than the smaller group of survivors. 'We have always been a tiny minority,' Turski said. 'And now only a handful remain.'
Associated Press
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Marian Turski, Auschwitz survivor who warned of danger of indifference, dies at 98
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Marian Turski, a Holocaust survivor who became a journalist and historian in postwar Poland and co-founded Warsaw's landmark Jewish history museum, died on Tuesday. He was 98. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews announced his death, describing him as a person of exceptional moral and intellectual qualities who always stood on the side 'of minorities, the excluded, the wronged.' 'An authority of global importance, an advocate of Polish-Jewish understanding, a publicist, a historian. A Polish Jew. A person without whom our museum would not exist,' the museum director, Zygmunt Stępiński, wrote in a statement. Turski survived the Lodz ghetto, where he and his family were forced to live, two death marches and imprisonment at the Nazi German concentration camps Buchenwald and Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was in German-occupied Poland. In all, he lost 39 relatives in the Holocaust. Unlike many Jewish survivors who left postwar Poland, Turski chose to remain. He was on the political left his entire life, and was a member of the communist party. He was among a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors and spoke during observances last month marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. However, it was a stark warning about the dangers of indifference at the anniversary five years earlier that brought him international attention and raised his moral profile among his supporters. Turski said at the time that the Holocaust did not 'fall from the sky' all at once but took hold step by step as society's acceptance of small acts of discrimination eventually led to ghettos and extermination camps. He also called on people to not remain indifferent when minorities are discriminated against, when history is distorted and when 'any authority violates the existing social contract.' Many in Poland interpreted his words as a critique of the right-wing government in power at the time. However, those on the political right criticized him for using the Auschwitz anniversary to comment on the political situation, and some even suggested that Turski lacked the moral authority for such a warning because he belonged to Poland's communist party before 1989. Citing the words of another survivor, Roman Kent, Turski described what should be the Eleventh Commandment of the Bible: 'Though shalt not be indifferent.' Poland's conservative President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to Turski, saying: 'He consistently spoke about the need to cultivate sensitivity to evil. May his memory be honored!' Turski was born on June 26, 1926, as Mosze Turbowicz, and spent his childhood and teenage years in Lodz, where he attended a Hebrew language school. In 1944, his parents and brother were deported to the German Nazi camp Auschwitz, and he arrived there two weeks later in one of the last transports. His father and brother died in the gas chambers, while his mother was sent to work at the Bergen Belsen camp in northern Germany, and Turski was dispatched to work on roads in the Auschwitz-Birkenau area before being sent on two death marches. He was liberated at Terezin close to death from exhaustion and typhus. In September 1945, he returned to Poland, a committed communist who rejected an offer to go to the West and wanted to help build a socialist Poland. He used his last time on the stage at last month's Auschwitz anniversary observance to warn of the dangers of hatred and to recall that the number of those murdered was always far greater than the smaller group of survivors. 'We have always been a tiny minority,' Turski said. 'And now only a handful remain.'
The Independent
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Book of a lifetime: Maus by Art Spiegelman
I'm not ashamed to admit it – I do read prose books. However, being a writer and artist of graphic novels, I find myself obliged to choose one in order to champion the form in general – it's Art Spiegelman's Maus. Dealing with the harrowing wartime experiences of his father, Vladek, a Polish Jew and survivor of Auschwitz, and Spiegelman's troubled relationship with him; it's biography, autobiography and historical memoir, told in the comics medium. Not wanting to trivialise Vladek's story by employing an overtly dramatic style, Spiegelman presents it in a straightforward cartoon way, with Jews represented as mice (the rodent metaphor taken straight from Hitler's own propaganda) and Nazis as cats. As with Hergé's ligne claire depictions of Tintin, the simple mouse masks make it easy for readers to empathise with the protagonists. Along with the eloquent visual storytelling, they make the book easily accessible to non-comics readers. The cartoon style and anthropomorphic characters allow the reader to approach otherwise horrific situations in a direct way, without the use of realistically explicit images and melodrama, while still retaining the power of the experience. The style is deceptively simple. Spiegelman experimented with different approaches and each page underwent multiple stages as he strove for clarity and fluidity. He tells the story dispassionately and honestly without any knowing winks to comics-literate readers. Nor is he trying to tell a 'worthy' story, but simply documenting his father's wartime experiences and depicting how he elicited this information. The present-day sequences give us an unsentimental portrait of this survivor of the death camp. Spiegelman doesn't glamorise his father as some kind of hero. Vladek comes across as irritating, manipulative, exasperating, and even bigoted. One wouldn't expect humour, but it's there, often wry and situational. It's a rich, well-rounded book. The first comic book to win a Pulitzer Prize, Maus paved the way in English-speaking countries for the recognition of the comic medium as a legitimate art form and for graphic novels that deal with 'serious' issues. It's fashionable to say that articles promoting the graphic novel as an art are redundant because this is now a truth universally acknowledged. It's not. There's still a tremendous amount of prejudice against the form that's in dire need of redress. Never read a GN? Why not try Maus?
