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Survivor leaves £500k legacy to Scottish university
Judith Rosenberg's bequest to Strathclyde reflected a long-time interest in science
August 6, 2021 12:58
Judith Rosenberg's bequest to Strathclyde reflected a long-time interest in science
August 6, 2021 12:58Scotland’s last Auschwitz survivor has left a £500,000 legacy to Strathclyde University for scientific and technological advancement.
Judith Rosenberg — who died in January, aged 98 — had discussed her vision for the gift with the university and the money will support the creation of the Harold and Judith Rosenberg chair in quantum technology and the Harold and Judith Rosenberg Quantum Technology Laboratories.
Born in Hungary, Mrs Rosenberg studied at Budapest University and was an apprentice to a watchmaker. In 1944, she and her family were deported to Auschwitz.
She was separated from her father, whom she never saw again but whose last words to her saved her life. He told her that if ever given a choice by her Nazi captors, they would always have ulterior motives so to choose the hardest option.
Following his advice led her to be selected to work in a munitions factory in Lippstadt, where her knowledge of physics and ability to mend officers’ watches helped her gain extra rations, which she shared with her mother and sister.
The three were liberated by US soldiers in 1945 and Mrs Rosenberg later became a British Army interpreter. It was in this capacity that she met her future husband, an artillery officer from Glasgow. They wed in Germany and settled in Glasgow, enjoying almost 60 years of happy marriage before he passed away on Yom Kippur in 2005.
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, the Strathclyde principal and vice-chancellor, said Mrs Rosenberg had been “a great friend and supporter of the university. She was immensely interested in our research activities and achievements at Strathclyde and had expressed her desire to support the advancement of science and technology through this substantial legacy gift.
“We are delighted to honour both Judith and her late husband Harold through the creation of this new professorial position and the naming of our new laboratories.”
Strathclyde is one of the leading international centres for quantum technology research and innovation.
Mrs Rosenberg’s only surviving blood relative is Erika Marosi — her sister Kati’s daughter — who lives in Hungary.
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