Tributes flood in for survivor and journalist Hella Pick
TRIBUTES HAVE been paid to the pioneering journalist and Holocaust survivor Hella Pick CBE, who has died aged 94.
Pick was born in Vienna, Austria on 24 April 1929 and was put on the Kindertransport by her mother following Germany’s annexation of Austria and a visit by the Gestapo to her family’s home.
She arrived in Britain in March 1939 and attended school in the Lake District.
Becoming a British citizen in 1948, Pick studied at the London School of Economics before becoming a United Nations correspondent for The Guardian.
She thrived there, becoming a renowned reporter at a time when there were very few female journalists.
Michael Newman, CEO of the Association of Jewish Refugees, of which Pick was a member, said, after learning of her passing, that she was an “indefatigable and pioneering journalist of great repute”.
He told the JC: “We feel fortunate to have worked with her on a number of occasions, including, most recently, to mark the 85th anniversary of the Kindertransport. Hella was one of the Kinder who met His Majesty the King at our commemoration last November and participated at events in both Vienna and the UK.
“She was dedicated to raising awareness of the Holocaust and sharing her story. We feel privileged to have captured her testimony as part of our Refugee Voices archive.”
The Guardian News & Media Archive contains an oral history of Pick’s time on the paper in the 1960s and 1970s, and a written memoir of her life and career in journalism, Invisible Journalism, was published in 2021.
Journalist Jonathan Freedland wrote on social media that Pick had been a“Guardian legend”, adding: “Last summer, I sat down to record a long interview with her. She had to break off twice, to take calls from editors about two separate pieces she had in the works: she was 94 at the time.”
Karen Pollock CBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Education Trust, said Pick was an “extraordinary” woman and “a trailblazing journalist”, who “inspired everyone she met”.
The Wiener Holocaust Library posted on social media that Pick was “a formidable journalist, as well as an engaged and sensitive commentator. We were honoured to work with her earlier this year, drawing on her experiences as a child refugee.”