CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born 24 April 1929) is a British-Austrian journalist of
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
descent.
Biography
Hella Pick was born in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, into a middle-class Jewish family. Her parents divorced when she was three years old and she was brought up by her mother. Following Germany's
annexation of Austria
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the Nazi Germany, German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "Ger ...
in 1938, and a visit from the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
, Pick's mother decided to leave Austria. Pick was put on a ''
Kindertransport
The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...
'' and arrived in Britain in March 1939. Her mother obtained a visa and joined her three months later.
Pick attended school in the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
and learned English. Feeling awkward about her identity, for a while she refused to speak German at all, even with her mother. In 1948, Pick became a British citizen and she no longer felt herself to be a refugee.
Pick studied at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
. She applied for a job at the United Nations, but was not accepted.
In 1960, she became the UN correspondent of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper, where she was tutored by its chief US correspondent
Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.women withdrew after the meal as was long the custom in the English-speaking world, while the men—including Pick's colleagues and competitors—discussed events over port and cigars. She has also written for the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''. She was honoured with a
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 2000 for her work as a journalist and writer. In Germany she became known for her appearance on the TV shows ''Internationales Frühschoppen'' and ''Presseclub''.
Pick is the Arts & Culture Programme Director at the
Institute for Strategic Dialogue
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a think tank founded in 2006 by Sasha Havlicek and George Weidenfeld that specialises in research and policy advice on hate, extremism, and disinformation. It is headquartered in London, United Kin ...
, an independent think-tank based in London. She has dual British and Austrian citizenship, and regularly visits Austria, her "home away from home".
The Guardian News & Media Archive contains an oral history of her time on the paper in the 1960s and 1970s and a written memoir. ''Invisible Walls'', an account of her life and career in journalism, was published in 2021.
Bibliography
*''
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal (31 December 190820 September 2005) was a history of the Jews in Austria, Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer. He studied architecture and was living in Lwów at the outbreak of World War II. He surviv ...
: A Life in Search of Justice'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1996
*''Guilty Victim - Austria from the Holocaust to
Haider
Haider is a predominantly Arabic name, with alternative spellings such as Haidar, Haydar and Heydar. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Haider Al-Abadi, Iraqi politician
*Haider Ackermann (born 1971), French fashion designer
*Haid ...
'', I B Tauris & Co Ltd, 2000
*''Invisible Walls'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2021