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Home > News > Archive 2007 > November > Barbican fundraiser raises 70,000 pounds for HSC

Date:  14 November 2007

Itzhak Perlman and Esther Rantzen lend their support to Jewish Care's Holocaust Survivors' Centre

Friends of Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre held a dinner at the Barbican for 180 supporters following a concert by world famous violinist Itzhak Perlman, accompanied by Bruno Canino on piano. The evening was arranged by Auschwitz survivor and Friends chairman Freddie Knoller, 86, who was interviewed by Esther Rantzen. The evening raised in excess of £70,000 for the Hendon-based centre.

Guests – including Jewish Care’s chief executive Simon Morris – were welcomed by committee member Michael Blake, who described the concert as “outstanding.” The violin virtuoso also received praise from Mr Knoller, who said: “Itzhak Perlman is fantastic. He plays with incredible feeling and energy and produces a sound that is wonderful.”

Between courses, Esther Rantzen quizzed Mr Knoller about his wartime years, as written in his book ‘Living with the Enemy’. Leaving Vienna after Kristallnacht, Mr Knoller went through Belgium to France, where he assumed a false identity then helped the Resistance before his capture by the Nazis. “We are immensely privileged to have Freddie here – he is quite extraordinary – his story is one of great resilience,” Miss Rantzen said, later describing him as “living history”.

But it was his time in France that interested the television personality the most: “Like a heat-seeking missile, you found yourself in Pigalle with the ‘naughty ladies’, taking German soldiers to the brothels,” she told the audience, many of whom were astonished to hear how Mr Knoller had survived.

Mr Knoller praised the centre’s daily programme with classes for bridge, art, music appreciation, creative writing and Yiddish, as well as the professional help for people who are experiencing trauma.

He said: “It is wonderful to be together with other survivors – they know our past experiences, they don’t talk about it but they understand. The centre is important as we are getting older – many have lost their partners; they are frail, they are lonely – it is a second home.”

Addressing guests, HSC director Judith Hassan spoke of the need for funds. She said: “For those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis, the Holocaust is not over. The memories of massive loss, torture and starvation and dehumanisation tend to return to haunt them as they get older. We work in partnership with survivors; we listen to them and learn from them. Together we have developed a therapeutic model that offers them opportunities to speak about their past suffering – and current difficulties – and find emotional relief through the social programme.

“Your presence here [and supporting this event] will help us to achieve our goals – you will not only be caring for those who survived but nurturing the memories of those who perished.”