‘Heroic’ educator dies
JEWISH ORGANISATIONS have paid tribute to Solly Irving, a Holocaust survivor and educator who has died at the age of 87.
Born in Poland in 1930, Mr Irving lost his parents and four sisters during the Shoah and survived labour camps and concentration camps, including Buchenwald.
After the war, Mr Irving came to the UK with hundreds of other child survivors in a group subsequently known as “The Boys”. In his later years he regularly gave talks about his wartime experiences, particularly to schools in Plymouth, which he visited every year.
It is estimated that he addressed tens of thousands of children over two decades.
The Holocaust Educational Trust said it was “deeply saddened” to hear of Mr Irving’s passing. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said that Mr Irving had “worked hard to share his testimony and will be missed by many”.
Tributes also came from the Jewish Museum in London and Yad Vashem UK, which described Mr Irving as “a heroic survivor of the Shoah”.
Paul Anticoni, World Jewish Relief’s chief executive, said: “I knew Solly well and met him on a number of occasions to hear his story. He was more than just a brave and remarkable Holocaust survivor — he was an inspirer of life and its important lessons.”
Students at schools where he had given talks also mourned his loss. Mandie Miller, a pupil at Estover school in Plymouth, wrote on Facebook: “I was humbled and touched by his story and I hope his teachings go on with future generations as he would have wanted.”
One member of Mr Irving’s family wrote a tribute on social media: “He was small in stature, but a giant amongst men. He witnessed suffering in his life way beyond what we cannot even imagine; yet he never gave up and taught us that good can triumph over
evil.”