Prince William and Catherine said on Friday: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Manfred Goldberg. Having joined him on a visit to Stutthof, we witnessed first-hand his extraordinary strength, grace and dedication to sharing his story. His tireless work to educate young people about the Holocaust will never be forgotten.”
Chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust Karen Pollock said that his passing leaves “an irreplaceable void in our hearts and in our community”.
Manfred spent decades sharing his story with many young people across the country, and Pollock said of his commitment to Holocaust education: “He was truly extraordinary. Having endured unimaginable horror and loss, he chose to look forward, dedicating his life to ensuring that the atrocities of the Holocaust would never be forgotten and that antisemitism in all its guises would be confronted.”
Manfred Goldberg is featured in HET's Testimony360, a free digital education programme (Photo: HET)[Missing Credit]
Born on April 21, 1930 to an Orthodox Jewish family in Kassel, Germany, Manfred’s early life was marred by Nazi persecution. In 1939, his mother managed to procure a single visa for his father to emigrate to England but, with the start of World War Two just a fortnight later, Manfred, his brother and mother were unable to follow.
They were sent to the Riga Ghetto in Latvia, where they were subjected to starvation, forced labour and brutality, whilst crammed in among 35,000 other displaced Jews. Still, in 1943, Manfred quietly marked his bar mitzvah, thanks to the guidance of a fearless teacher he had known in Kassel.
Several months later, Manfred and his family were transferred to a nearby labour camp, where he saw his nine-year-old brother Hermann for the last time, when he and his mother were briefly sent to work on a local railway track without him. They never discovered his fate.
In August, 1944, Manfred and his mother were loaded onto cattle cars and sent to Stutthof concentration camp near Danzig, today Gdańsk, in Poland. There, he endured more than eight months of forced labour across Stutthof’s satellite camps, including Stolp and Burggraben, where people were left to die in their bunk beds from starvation and malnutrition.
Manfred and his mother were sent on an infamous death march just days before Germany’s surrender, and they walked for a week until they were liberated by British tanks in Neustadt, Germany on May 3, 1945.
In 1946, they were reunited with Manfred’s father in England. In London, Manfred learnt English and returned to education, graduating from the University of London with a degree in electronics. He married his wife Shary in 1961, with whom he raised four sons.
Manfred Goldberg and King Charles (Photo: HET)[Missing Credit]
Manfred, who lived in Hendon and was a member of Hendon Adath Yisroel, became a Holocaust educator later in life, sharing his story in schools and travelling with the Holocaust Education Trust as a guide and speaker. He was awarded an MBE in June 2024 for his contribution to Holocaust education and remembrance, named on King Charles’ Birthday Honours List, and was commended by the King, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), to whom Manfred dictated his life story, paid tribute to the late Holocaust educator, saying: “His life stands as a testament to resilience, hope, and the power of memory. The AJR honours Manfred’s extraordinary contribution and expresses profound gratitude for his lifelong commitment to remembrance and education.”
The King also said about Goldberg: “As a survivor of the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust, I am so proud that he found refuge in Britain, where he would later tell the world of the unimaginable atrocities he had witnessed as a young boy — an enduring reminder for our generation, and generations as yet unborn, of the depths of depravity and evil to which humankind can fall, when reason, compassion and truth are forsaken.
“Indeed, I was profoundly moved to hear Manfred’s recollections at this year’s reception to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and, more recently, during his investiture ceremony. Together with other Holocaust survivors, he became an integral part of the fabric of our nation; his extraordinary dignity, resolve and courage an example to us all, which will forever be remembered. It was the greatest privilege and joy to have known him and my prayers are with his dear family and those who grieve with them.”
Rabbi Naftali Schiff, founder of Holocaust education charity JRoots, shared a close friendship with Manfred and produced a feature-length documentary with him. He said: “Manfred Goldberg had every excuse not to be the consummate mensch that he was. A proud Jew of the most steadfast belief, always overflowing with grace and gratitude for his lot in this world...He chose goodness, decency, kindness, civility, faith, observance and menchlichkeit over bitterness, despair or negativity.”
Manfred Goldberg with the Prince and Princess of Wales (Photo: HET)[Missing Credit]
Rabbi Schiff added: "For me, Manfred was an example extraordinaire of a friend, a mentor, a sage and an exemplary figure of upright decent and congenial behaviour towards every human being.”
Olivia Marks-Woldman, the chief executive officer of Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, also paid tribute to Manfred, describing him as “a true gentleman”.
She added: “Always courteous, impeccably dressed, and deeply committed to sharing his experiences of childhood and during the Holocaust, he helped to reach hundreds of thousands of people, in person and online. Manfred inspired everyone he met, and his memory and legacy will continue to inspire us at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for years to come.”
