Ben Helfgott
![]() Helfgott in 2021 | |
Personal information | |
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Nationality | British/Polish |
Born | Piotrków Trybunalski, Łódz Voivodeship, Poland | 22 November 1929
Died | 16 June 2023 London, England | (aged 93)
Height | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) |
Weight | 67 kg (148 lb) |
Sport | |
Country | Great Britain |
Sport | Weightlifting |
Medal record |
Sir Benjamin "Ben" Helfgott
Biography
Helfgott was born in
There are descriptions of his experiences both during and after the Holocaust in Martin Gilbert's book The Boys, The Story of 732 Young Concentration Camp Survivors about 732 young concentration camp survivors who were sent to the United Kingdom after the war.[7]
Weightlifting career
Helfgott won Great Britain's 11 st (70 kg) championship in 1954, and was
Helfgott was the captain of the British weightlifting teams at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne and the 1960 Olympics in Rome. In addition, he was a bronze medal winner at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff, South Wales. Helfgott also won the gold medal in the lightweight class at the 1950, 1953 and 1957 Maccabiah Games.[8]
Media appearances
As a guest on the BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs programme on 1 April 2007, he chose to be stranded with a copy of Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy and a bar with two discs for weight training.[5]
In 2010, Helfgott was one of five
In 2018, Helfgott appeared in an edition of the BBC series
Personal life and death
Helfgott married Arza in 1966, with whom he then had three sons and nine grandchildren. He had begun a course at the University of Southampton in 1948 but dropped out after a year and thereafter was partner in a business manufacturing dresses.[6]
Helfgott died on 16 June 2023, at the age of 93.[11][12]
Awards, honours and recognition
Poland
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Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2005) |
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Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (1994) |
United Kingdom
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Knight Bachelor (2018) |
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Member of the Order of the British Empire (2000) |
Helfgott was appointed a
In 2012, at a
In the 2018 Birthday Honours, Helfgott was appointed a Knight Bachelor in recognition of his contribution to services to Holocaust remembrance and education.[14]
In October 2020, Helfgott was awarded the
See also
References
- ^ a b Remembering the living dead: 40 years since the Munich murder
- ^ Steve Lipman (13 August 2004). "The Olympics and The Holocaust". Jewish Federations of North America. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.
- ^ Pollock, Karen. "Ben Helfgott knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours". Holocaust Educational Trust. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Holocaust Educational Trust web page about Ben Helfgott's surviving sister Mala Tribich| https://www.het.org.uk/survivors-mala-tribich
- ^ a b "Ben Helfgott". Desert Island Discs. BBC Radio 4. 1 April 2007.
- ^ a b Freedland, Michael (8 May 2018). "'I had to get on with living': how Ben Helfgott went from a concentration camp to Olympic weightlifting". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ M Gilbert. The Boys, The Story of 732 Young Concentration Camp Survivors. Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1996.
- ^ "Ben profile".
- ^ Aaronovitch, David. "Jewish Museum: history with chicken soup: The all-new Jewish Museum in North London has the sights and even the smells of an ancient British way of life", The Times, 2 March 2010. Accessed 2 February 2011.
- ^ Rinder, Robert. "OPINION – Rob Rinder: We must tell our children and our children's children". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ Cohen, Justin; Frazer, Jenni. "Sir Ben Helfgott, one of Britain's greatest Jews, passes away aged 93". jewishnews.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ Phillips, Jacob (16 June 2023). "Tributes paid as Holocaust survivor and Olympic weightlifter Ben Helfgott dies". The Irish News. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ United Kingdom: "No. 55879". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 19 June 2000. p. 17.
- ^ "Birthday Honours 2018" (PDF). Gov.uk. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Holocaust survivor Sir Ben Helfgott wins Pride of Britain award". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
External links
- Ben Helfgott at Olympedia
- Ben Helfgott at Team GB