The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Holocaust survivor and activist Gábor Hirsch dies in Switzerland

man
Hirsch narrowly escaped being killed in the gas chambers. Keystone/ennio Leanza

The Hungary-born founder and former president of the Swiss Contact Point for Holocaust Survivors died on Thursday in Zurich at the age of 90. 

His family announced his death in an obituary on Tuesday. Hirsch was born on December 9, 1929 in Békéscsaba, Hungary. When he was 14 years old, he was transported along with his mother and more than 3,000 Jews in a cattle car to the Auschwitz concentration camp in June 1944. He was separated from his mother, who later died in the camp.  

Hirsch was sent to the gas chambers in October by the Nazis, along with 600 other Jews. His life was spared at the last minute when in an examination officers deemed him fit enough to work.   

The Soviet Army eventually liberated the camp on January 27, 1945 and he reunited in Budapest with his father, who had been sent by the Nazis to a forced labour camp. 

Hirsch immigrated to Switzerland in 1956 during the Hungarian revolution. Along with Otto Klein – another Holocaust survivor who was a twin experimented on by Josef Mengele – he founded the self-help group Swiss Contact Point for Holocaust Survivors (Kontaktstelle für Überlebende des Holocaust) in 1994. The objective of the association was to establish and promote relations between survivors, maintain contacts with foreign associations, lobby for compensation, raise awareness of racism, antisemitism and Holocaust deniers, reappraise the role of Switzerland in the Second World War and support members in documenting their past. The association was eventually dissolved in 2011.  

“Be aware of and fight any indoctrination and any kind of discrimination, racism, antisemitism or other kind of exclusions,” was his message to future generations in a testimonyExternal link

More



Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Zurich FDP politician Vreni Spoerry dies aged 87

More

Influential Swiss politician Vreni Spoerry dies aged 87

This content was published on Zurich politician Vreni Spoerry died on Thursday at the age of 87. She was extremely influential in federal financial policy for 20 years as a member of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Read more: Influential Swiss politician Vreni Spoerry dies aged 87
Meyer Burger at the end credits

More

Swiss company Meyer Burger goes bust

This content was published on In the US, production has been stopped and 280 employees laid off. For the German subsidiaries – with over 600 employees – insolvency proceedings have been filed.

Read more: Swiss company Meyer Burger goes bust
ILO chief ready to face up to "duty of reform" and "rigour

More

ILO chief ready to face up to necessary reforms

This content was published on At the start of the 113th International Labour Conference in Geneva, Houngbo called for a "more efficient" organisation in front of the 187 member states

Read more: ILO chief ready to face up to necessary reforms

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR