We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of our friend Lilian Black OBE.
Lilian was a stalwart in the field of Holocaust education and remembrance. Chair of the Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association in Leeds and founder of the new Holocaust Exhibition and Learning centre in Huddersfield, Lilian was determined to honour her father, Holocaust survivor Eugene Black’s, legacy.
Eugene was born in Czechoslovakia, survived Auschwitz-Birkenau, worked as slave labour in Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora, before being liberated at Bergen-Belsen. Lilian would often accompany Eugene on his visits to schools, helping him to share his testimony with students across Bradford.
Through the Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association, Lilian helped to ensure that Holocaust survivors living in the north of England had a community to turn to. Since 1996, the Association has enabled these survivors to share their testimonies with the next generation; has gathered countless documents, photographs and objects related to their stories and ensured the survivors had a support network.
Lilian then worked hard to campaign for a permanent place of Holocaust learning and remembrance in the North. In 2018 the Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre was opened, housed in the University of Huddersfield. She felt that the Learning Centre would help the realisation of the declaration, ‘never again.’ It was a truly remarkable achievement.
Speaking last year, Lilian said that her father would have been amazed and proud to see the Learning Centre up and running. Right up until the end of her life, Lilian dedicated her time to honouring her father’s legacy and ensuring many other stories were heard and remembered. We know how proud he was of her, and rightly so.
Only a few weeks ago she was awarded an OBE for services to Holocaust Education. Lilian was a dynamic force. We will always remember her fondly and send our thoughts and prayers to her family and friends. May her memory be a blessing.
