News Archive
Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental “I Was a Boy in Belsen”
Holocaust survivor
Tomi Reichental
Speaking:
“I Was a Boy in Belsen”
Tuesday, 12 March 2013, 6pm, UCC, Western Gate Building G05
UCC, Department of German and Department of History
Supported by the Holocaust Education Trust Ireland
Born in 1935 in Bratislava to a Jewish family, Tomi was arrested by the Gestapo in October 1944. Tomi as well as twelve other members of his family were taken into custody and then transported in cattle wagons to KZ Bergen Belsen and KZ Buchenwald. At the conclusion of the war it was discovered that Tomi had lost 35 members of his family following their detention in these camps. Tomi Moved to Ireland in 1959 and settled down to raise his family and build a new life here in Dublin in the 1960′s.
Tomi published in 2011 his autobiography I Was a Boy in Belsen. He is also the subject of two documentaries on his experiences as a holocaust survivor in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp during 1944 and 1945.
With Indefatigable Optimism, Tomi’s thoughts today are of reconciliation and hope.
In recognition of his tireless work in the combating of xenophobia and racism, and in particular his commitment to the cause of reconciliation and highlighting the futility of hatred, the German President, Joachim Gauck has recently honoured Tomi with the Nation’s Highest award to an individual, the Order of Merit.