Lili and her mother were the only suvivors in a family of 300
A HOLOCAUST survivor who had dedicated her life to highlighting the heroism of gentiles who rescued Jews died last week at 91.
Lili Stern-Pohlmann and her mother Cecylia Stern were the only survivors in an extended family of more than 300.
They escaped the Lvov Ghetto and were sheltered by German civil servant Irmgard Wieth in a section of the Polish city home to the Nazi administration.
In 1944, Ms Wieth – who was honoured by Yad Vashem in 1968 – helped the pair find refuge with the Greek Catholic archbishop, Andrey Count Sheptytsky. In 1946, Ms Stern-Pohlmann, then 16, was among the Jewish children brought to the UK under a programme led by Rabbi Solomon Schonfeld. Her mother joined her the following year.
Ms Stern-Pohlmann was married to the actor Eric Pohlmann and after his death wed literary agent Peter JansonSmith. They were together for more than 30 years.
She received Poland’s Commander’s Cross of Polonia Restituta and was made an MBE in 2020 for her services to Holocaust education, awareness and human relations. She became Honorary President of the Holocaust education charity Learning
from the Righteous, which highlights the stories of rescuers.
Its CEO and her close friend Antony Lishak said: “Her legacy will live on in the hearts of all who were privileged to know her. Perhaps her biggest triumph is that, aged 91, she died, as she had lived; on her own terms.”
The Association of Jewish Refugees described her as “an engaging and passionate speaker and educator on the Holocaust”.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, recalled her “infectious energy, warm smile and a wonderful sense of humour”.
Ms Stern-Pohlmann is survived by her daughter Karen, three grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Her legacy will live on in the hearts of those privileged to know her