The UK Holocaust education community is mourning the loss of Manfred Goldberg, a survivor whose powerful testimony and dedication to remembrance have left an indelible mark. Mr Goldberg passed away at the age of 95, having spent decades ensuring the horrors of the Nazi regime were never forgotten.
A Life Dedicated to Memory
Manfred Goldberg was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Germany in April 1930. His childhood was shattered by the escalating persecution of the Nazi regime. At just 11 years old, he was deported to a ghetto in Riga, Latvia. Life there was characterised by a severe lack of food, slave labour, and constant fear. Inmates, he later recounted, were regularly selected for mass shootings in the nearby forests.
In 1944, he was moved to the Stutthof concentration camp near Gdansk, Poland, where he endured eight months as a slave labourer. His liberation finally came on 3 May 1945 at Neustadt in Germany. A year later, he arrived in Britain to be reunited with his father, building a new life from the ashes of the old.
Championing Education and Confronting Hate
Mr Goldberg dedicated his life to ensuring the atrocities of the Holocaust would never be forgotten and that antisemitism would be confronted. His commitment was recognised at the highest levels; he met King Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Sir Keir Starmer. In a fitting tribute to his work, he was honoured with an MBE in September.
The Holocaust Educational Trust, with which he worked closely for many years, paid heartfelt tribute. Its chief executive, Karen Pollock, described him as "truly extraordinary" and said his passing "leaves an irreplaceable void in our hearts." She added, "We will deeply miss Manfred – his kindness, his encouragement, wisdom and his gentle guidance. He was a true Tzadik – a righteous – and we will strive harder than ever in his name to continue his mission."
A Legacy Secured for Future Generations
Understanding the urgency of preserving first-hand accounts, Manfred Goldberg participated in a groundbreaking initiative called Testimony 360. He spent five days being filmed answering over 1,000 questions, allowing students to "talk" to his virtual self using artificial intelligence and virtual reality. This technology ensures his testimony can educate students long into the future.
Ms Pollock confirmed that "this programme will ensure that his incredible testimony will continue to reach generations of students for many years to come."
In 2023, he expressed his profound concern to Sky News about the persistence of Holocaust denial. "I'm amazed that hundreds of thousands of people are denying that the Holocaust ever happened while survivors like me, who can speak in the first person, are still alive," he said. He warned of the danger of the Holocaust being relegated to a footnote in history, stating it was "absolutely vital to keep that horrific experience... alive in order to make people aware of what hate can lead to."
In a poignant personal act of remembrance, he returned to Germany in 2018 to lay a memorial stone for his brother, Herman, who was murdered during the Holocaust. Manfred Goldberg is survived by his wife, four sons, several grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.
