The King and senior members of the Royal Family have led heartfelt tributes to Manfred Goldberg MBE, a Holocaust survivor and esteemed educator who has died at the age of 95. They praised his extraordinary dignity, resolve and courage in sharing his story with generations of young people across Britain.
A Life Dedicated to Remembrance
Mr Goldberg's commitment to Holocaust education was formally recognised just weeks before his passing. In a poignant ceremony in September, King Charles personally invested him as an MBE at Clarence House for his services to Holocaust remembrance and education.
Following the announcement of his death on Thursday, the King expressed profound sadness, stating that it meant more to me than I can ever say to have been able to bid a fond farewell to such a truly special human being. He described Mr Goldberg as a vital part of the nation's fabric, whose eyes shone with the light of true redemption and humanity.
From Persecution to Educator
Manfred Goldberg was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Kassel, Germany, on 21 April 1930. His life was irrevocably changed when, in December 1941, the Nazis deported him, his mother Rosa, and his younger brother Herman to the Riga Ghetto in Latvia.
As the Red Army advanced in August 1944, he was moved to the Stutthof concentration camp in Poland. Mr Goldberg endured more than eight months as a slave labourer in Stutthof and its subcamps, where tens of thousands of Jews were murdered. He was finally liberated by the British Army in May 1945, at just 15 years old.
In September 1946, he arrived in Britain to be reunited with his father, Baruch, who had secured a visa through British diplomat Frank Foley just days before the Second World War began. After learning English and completing an engineering degree, Mr Goldberg made it his life's mission to share his harrowing experiences.
A Legacy That Will Never Be Forgotten
The Prince and Princess of Wales also paid tribute, recalling their visit with him to Stutthof. They witnessed first-hand his extraordinary strength and grace and stated that his tireless work to educate young people about the Holocaust will never be forgotten.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said Mr Goldberg was truly extraordinary. She noted that his passing leaves an irreplaceable void, but his legacy of confronting antisemitism and ensuring the atrocities of the Holocaust are remembered will endure.
Married with four sons, several grandchildren, and a great-grandchild, Manfred Goldberg continued his work into his later years. In 2018, he returned to Germany to lay a memorial stone for his brother Herman, who was killed during the Holocaust, ensuring that even the most personal losses were honoured and remembered.
