Lady Zahava Kohn MBE • 1935 - 2022
A collection of letters, notes, tributes and condolences
“May her memory forever be a blessing”
Zahava and family, 2011
The National Holocaust Centre and Museum
We are very sad to announce the passing of Bergen-Belsen survivor and much admired friend of the National Holocaust Centre & Museum, Lady Zahava Kohn MBE. She died after a long illness, one week short of her 87th birthday.
“Lady Zahava was clearly a very special woman who I remember had such grace and poise. Her efforts to educate the next generation about her own experience and about the dangers of hatred and antisemitism were and are hugely valued and will leave a long-lasting impact. ”
Tribute from the Jewish Museum London Facebook Page
Holocaust survivor Lady Kohn dies at 86
The Shoah educator's family narrowly escaped being sent to Auschwitz
Bergen-Belsen survivor: Lady Zahava Kohn MBE (Photo: The National Holocaust Centre and Museum/Twitter)
Obituary from the Jewish Chronicle:
Yad Vashem UK said: "We are saddened to hear of the passing of Bergen Belsen survivor and Holocaust educator Lady Zahava Kohn MBE... May her memory be a blessing to all who knew her."
Letter from King Solomon High School
“The legacy she leaves us is to tell her story again and again; to respond by standing up against prejudice and discrimination in all its forms and to value our family and friends.”
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It is with much sadness that I write of the passing of Lady Zahava Kohn MBE z’l, a remarkable person and Holocaust survivor who, together with her equally remarkable daughter Hephzi, has been a friend of our school community (and a personal friend) for 12 years.
My first encounter with Zahava and Hephzi was at an event entitled ‘violins of hope’ at Finchley Synagogue in 2010; the violins in question were a unique collection of instruments that had been retrieved from pre-war Europe and lovingly restored. The event ended with a concert using the violins and I was struck with the sheer power of survival and continuity; the importance of using the lessons from the Holocaust to create a better world.
In a corner of the hall, Zahava and Hephzi were promoting Zahava’s new book, Fragments of a Lost Childhood, telling her own remarkable story of survival and hope against all odds.
Having met both ladies and read the book, I invited Zahava and Hephzi to KS to share their story; we also invited year 12 students from across the Borough and our first inter school Holocaust Memorial Day event took place in January 2012.
Since then, we have brought together more than 2000 young people, all transfixed and inspired by Zahava’s story; that of a family living in Amsterdam when war broke out, all of whom remarkably surviving the horrors of the Holocaust. The unique presentation was shared between Zahava and Hephzi, using narrative together with artefacts, cards and letters that had been preserved in a suitcase hidden by Zahava’s mother and discovered only after her death in 2001. These objects tell of separation, isolation, Nazi deception, time spent in Westerbork and Bergen Belsen, of a young brother hidden with neighbours; but ultimately of love, hope and survival. Students were always silent throughout, then asked many interesting and searching questions. Zahava always made every student feel valued and every question received a considered and thoughtful response. even if it had been asked many times before. The final part of the presentation shows Zahava surrounded by her family and offers a hope for the future, as mirrored by the students who followed up the talk with a workshop on lessons we can take forward from the Holocaust.
Our annual programme kept going through the pandemic, with our audience joining Zahava and Hephzi online.
In 2021, we returned to a live event and even though Zahava was too frail to attend in person, Hehpzi ensured that her mother’s story was as vivid and vibrant as ever.
An abiding personal memory of Zahava was on a cold, windy day in Brighton during the festival of Pesach. I was there for the day with my mum and we were walking along the promenade. We saw a couple huddled closely together at the bus stop; it was Zahava and her dear late husband Sir Ralph. They greeted us so warmly and I felt heartened by these two people who radiated love, warmth and togetherness.
Zahava inspired love and exuded her indomitable spirit, quiet strength and resilience to all who met her. She was a true lady in every sense; gentle, gracious, humble and above all an optimist, who has inspired thousands of people through her story and personal example.
Sharing Zahava’s story was a true honour; we are privileged to have known her.
The legacy she leaves us is to tell her story again and again; to respond by standing up against prejudice and discrimination in all its forms and to value our family and friends.
We send our love and thoughts to Hephzi and sisters Michelle and Maxine, along with the wider family.
We will always remember the impact Zahava made on the thousands of young people who were fortunate to meet her and hear her story.
May her memory be for a blessing.
Melanie Shutz
Childhood Lost - Life Gained
In memory of Lady Zahava Kohn (August 5, 1935 – July 29, 2022)
An obituary written by Christian Wolff in Leipzig.
Sir Ralph and Lady Zahava Kohn in 2007 in St. Thomas Church
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Childhood lost - life gained
In Memoriam Lady Zahava Kohn (August 5, 1935 - July 29, 2022)
She could have celebrated her 87th birthday on August 5, 2022: Lady Zahava Kohn. Sadly, she passed away in London a few days earlier on Friday 29 July 2022. Lady Zahava has lived an extraordinary life. Born in Ramat Gan in 1935, she returned to Amsterdam in 1937 with her parents Sigmund and Rosy Kanarek. The parents thought they would be safe from the Nazis there. But while her future husband, Sir Ralph Kohn, was born in Leipzig's Lortzingstraße in 1927 and fled with his parents from the Nazis to Amsterdam in 1933, and was able to leave the Dutch metropolis at the last moment in May 1940, the Kanarek family did not manage to flee to Honduras as they had planned. The Kanarek family was deported to the Westerbork transit camp in May 1943. Previously, with a heavy heart, the parents had given Zahava's younger brother, Jehudi, to an unknown resistance family in December 1942 to try and ensure his safety and survival. Jehudi survived the Nazi era. When the family was arrested by the SS, seven-year-old Zahava, who was suffering from chickenpox, was to be separated from her parents. Panicked and frightened, she fought back with hysterical screams. Apparently, this impressed the SS officer, and the family were permitted to stayed together rather than being separated. As if by a miracle, the family was then saved from further transport to the Auschwitz death camp and ended up in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. In January 1945, they miraculously found themselves on a Red Cross list. They were to be exchanged for prisoners of war. This is how Lady Zahava came to Biberach, albeit badly marked by the atrocities of the concentration camp period. The family was liberated there in April 1945 and returned to Amsterdam via Zurich. In 1963, Ralph and Zahava Kohn married. Sir Ralph Kohn was a very successful pharmacologist in London and a generous patron. In 2009, Lady Zahava published her dramatic story, “Fragments of a Lost Childhood“, after discovering and reviewing her mother's collection of documents, photographsan and letters from the wartime period - a poignant account of how a Jewish girl and her parents survived the Holocaust. In countless school talks and events, Lady Zahava, supported by her daughter Hephzibah has told young people the story of her survival - as she did in 2014 in the Thomasschule, always with the aim that something like the Holocaust should never be allowed to happen again.
And what do Sir Ralph and Lady Zahava, both observant Jews, have to do with the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig? Both were deeply connected to German culture and especially to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. After the Peaceful Revolution of 1989/90, both found their way to Sir Ralph's birthplace and also to the St. Thomas Church. They actively supported the Bach Archive, the forum Thomanum educational campus and the foundation Chorherren zu St. Thomae. In 2004 they were appointed Honorary Fellows. Their names are recorded on the Honorary Fellows’ wall in the St. Thomas Church. In 2012 St. Thomas Boys Choir and Thomaskantor Georg Christoph Biller were awarded the Bach Prize of the Royal Academy of Music London, sponsored by Sir Ralph. But the most important thing: Ralph and Zahava, the victims of Nazi terror, have contributed a great deal to reconciliation, also thanks to the universal language of music. Full of gratitude, I look back on many wonderful encounters and conversations in London and Leipzig. At the end of her book, Lady Zahava writes: "My hope is that with kindness, compassion and tolerance, we can all work together to prevent a repeat of the Nazi nightmare." This legacy should be our mission.
Christian Wolff
www.wolff-christian.de
Tribute from the Jewish Museum…
I have such fond memories of your mother and her testimony is one that will stay with me for a very long time. I feel privileged to have met her and listened to her speak on many occasions and witness the impact she had on students and staff members who met her.
One thing that always struck me was the strength of the connection between her and her mother. It is something I saw reflected in her close relationship with you. The combination of mother and daughter speaking together was very powerful. She was a very special woman of such strength, intelligence and humility.
We are deeply saddened to hear of Lady Zahava Kohn’s passing earlier at the end of the Summer.
A true symbol of bravery and hope, Lady Kohn empowered thousands of people around the world to reflect on the Holocaust’s personal experiences and memories – an unequivocally extraordinary cause. The Eton community express their unreserved gratitude for Lady Zahava Kohn’s astounding visit in March 2020, where we heard her powerful story in surviving Bergen Belsen and Westerbork. We also feel extremely fortunate in knowing that this was her last talk before the lockdown and her last public appearance in any school. She was truly special and inspirational, and now it is our job to pass down the torch of her memories and retell her story in years to come.
Thank you, Kohn family.
Eton College
Lady Zahava Kohn was an extraordinary person who worked tirelessly, telling her story to thousands of school children over the years. That story is one of pure courage and resilience, and her presentations and her book, as well as the talks given by her daughter, Hephzibah, inspired many and also kept her story alive. It reminded young people, who will hopefully never know the suffering of Zahava and her family in the Nazi camps, of the dangers of racism, fanaticism, hatred and extremism. It is this message that Lady Kohn passed on so adeptly and with such humility. During these presentations and talks, school children were able to see items that Lady Kohn and her family retained from Bergen-Belsen, precious family photos that had to be hidden, tiny family mementos, as well as the items they used in their daily existence in the camps. We thank Lady Kohn for her work, keeping her story and message alive, and thank Hephzibah, for continuing her mother’s work. Students from The Henrietta Barnett School were awestruck, inspired and greatly moved by Lady Kohn’s story and this will continue for generations to come. We remember Lady Kohn with great admiration, respect and love, and send our heartfelt condolences to her family.
The Henrietta Barnett School
I know that I speak for the whole school community here at Queen's- both those fortunate enough to meet your mum in person or to have seen her in the video interviews presented in your talks - in expressing our great sadness at this news and thinking of you at this time. I can only echo what you say in your message that Zahava was a true inspiration to us all; a kind, warm, generous and determined lady. We are all grateful for her decision to devote her later years to Holocaust education and sharing her story with us. It had an enormous impact on everyone who heard it, as indeed did your mum.
Queen’s College London
On behalf of the whole Bentley Wood community, let me express my heartfelt condolences about the passing of your mother. Zahava's annual visits and her remarkable story served as inspiration to all those who heard it, staff and students alike. We have always felt privileged as a community that you and Zahava would give up your free time to share her experiences with our students. She has left behind a remarkable legacy and won't be forgotten by anyone who heard her talk.
Bentley Wood High School
Your mother was indeed an inspiration, and I feel very privileged to have met her. I hope you will take comfort knowing what a huge legacy she has left behind in terms of the thousands of children she has educated with her first-hand experience of the Holocaust. In these troubled times, compassion, tolerance and understanding are more important lessons to learn than ever.
West London Free School
I am so sorry to learn of your mother’s death. Such sad news. Lady Zahava was a wonderful person whose life and outlook was an inspiration to all those she met.
La Sainte Union School
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your mother, may she rest in peace. It is wonderful how she used her experience to teach generations of young people about the atrocities of the holocaust. I admire the work you continue to do to keep the education going. I very much enjoyed your last talk at LSU and I know the impact it had on our pupils. The talk your mother gave to our 6th formers in 2015 remains one of the most powerful experiences of my time as a school leader at LSU. Your family are in my prayers at this difficult time.
La Sainte Union School
I’m sorry to hear the sad news of your mother passing. She was a truly inspirational woman to all and feel blessed to have known her. She will be missed by all. My thoughts are with you and your family.
American School London
Zahava was an inspiration to us all – her story and experiences ones to appreciate and treasure. We are so lucky to have met her, been able to spend time with her and learn from her.
American School London
The St Marylebone CE School Community sends its condolences for the passing of Lady Zahava Kohn.
We were lucky enough to hear in detail about her story of hope in the face of such adversity. The artefacts from the camps and her early childhood brought this story to life and showed us the importance of not taking our freedoms for granted. Her impact will be long lasting and the lessons learned from her experiences are lessons for us all.
We know her story will live on and we will continue our work on Holocaust education with the support of her daughter, Hephzibah.
St Marylebone CE School
I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to meet Zahava and hear her story. Her experience of survival, coupled with the testimony of other survivors, continues to form my drive to enrich, inspire and educate students to be positive, supportive and engaging citizens of the world.
Hampstead Fine Arts College
Lady Zahava’s testimony and incredible courage to share her story, memories and photographs so widely mean she leaves such a powerful legacy. I know many, many Wanstead students have been moved and deeply impacted by the opportunity to hear from Zahava and Hephzibah at King Solomon in the 12 years I have led the History department at WHS. I will never forget listening to Zahava’s story and I know many former students feel the same.
Wanstead High School
We are so sorry to hear of the loss of your mother. Zahava’s story captivated hundreds of Channing girls over the years. Her positivity and humanity whilst describing one of darkest chapters in all human history was as moving as it was inspiring. Whenever she described what befell her and her family our students were always profoundly moved and we are very grateful to Hephzi for sharing her mother and her story with us. We are deeply honoured to have heard her testimony and hope to continue to share her legacy for years to come with future generations at our school.
Channing School
We at QPCS are glad to have been able to work with Lady Zahava, and know that both ourselves and our students benefitted greatly from hearing about her story of resilience.
We hope to be able to continue working with you to keep your mother's story alive for future generations of young people.
Queens Park Community School
On behalf of the community at Southbank International School, we would like to express our heartfelt condolences for the passing of Lady Zahava Kohn. The Southbank community has always been touched by her story; she shared such personal details of her life to educate others and she has left an impressive legacy. Hephzibah, her daughter, has been an absolute delight to work with too and has really taken the time to connect with our students. It has been our pleasure to be a part of her journey and we look forward to welcoming Hephzibah to continue to share her mother's legacy in years to come.
Southbank International School
On behalf of the Saracens High School community, we would like to express our deepest condolences regarding the passing of Lady Zahava. Pupils at Saracens have been privileged to hear her incredible story of courage and hope for the last four years. The legacy that Lady Zahava has left is monumental; all of our pupils remember engaging and listening to her story of survival. Thank you Lady Zahava, and thank you Hephzi for continuing to share such an important piece of your family's history with us all. Lady Zahava will be greatly missed, but her story will continue to move thousands of people for generations to come.
Saracens High School
Lady Zahava Kohn was truly a special women to share her life story with the next generation. The pupils at Saracens High School were privileged to hear from her and her daughter during their visits to our school. It was wonderful to see how the use of the story, artefacts and images engaged the pupils and transported them back in time. The experience of having Lady Kohn visit was one that no one in the hall will ever forget. It developed our understanding and empathy, in a way that no lesson could have done. I will always remember during a Q&A session, a year 8 boy asked if he could go with Zahava when she was visiting the Queen. We are looking forward to continuing the Holocaust education through the excellent work Hephzibah is doing to keep her mother’s experiences alive.
Saracens High School
