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Tomi Reichental, Irish Holocaust Survivor, Dies Aged 90

His lifelong testimony, a 2011 memoir and filmed accounts shaped Holocaust education, public memory, the fight against antisemitism in Ireland

Overview

  • Tomi Reichental has died at the age of 90, a fact confirmed in a statement from the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland.
  • As a child he and his family were deported to Bergen-Belsen in 1944, where he survived while 35 close family members were killed in the Holocaust.
  • Reichental settled in Dublin after emigrating to Ireland in 1959 and raised a family while building a public life as a witness and educator.
  • He published the memoir I Was a Boy in Belsen in 2011 and was the subject of two documentaries that expanded his reach to schools, festivals and community groups.
  • Political and community leaders have paid tribute to his work and a memorial service will be held at a future date, with his testimony expected to continue shaping Holocaust teaching and efforts to counter hate in Ireland.