Tomáš Reichental (Tomi) is a Holocaust survivor. He was born in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
in 1935 to Jewish farmers and lived with his family on their farm until he was the age of eight. At this age laws started coming in that prohibited the movement and rights of Jewish people and that is when he and his family went into hiding.
He, his mother, his brother, and his grandmother were caught and taken to
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concent ...
in 1944 where they remained until the camp was liberated by the British in 1945. More than 30 members of his family were killed during the Holocaust.
[
He moved to ]Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in 1959 but did not speak about his experiences for half a century.[
Reichental is known for his talks about his experience of ]The Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
as a child. he is one of three Holocaust survivors residing in Ireland. He gives talks in secondary schools, colleges and at events across the country. His aim is to educate people about what happened during the Holocaust so that we can remember the people who died in it and so it never happens again: "After all the horror, I am doing my best to keep the memory of those lost ones alive. We—you, me, your children, my children—must never forget."[ Reichental wanted to meet her and hoped that she had atoned, but his disappointment was that she was stuck in the 1940s and had denied the murder of inmates in Bergen-Belsen.][
In 2011, Reichental's book ''I Was a Boy in Belsen'' was published by O'Brien Press Ltd. In this autobiography, Reichental recounts his experiences as a child prisoner in the Bergen-Belsen camp.]Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
awarded him an honorary doctorate. He was conferred an honorary doctorate by Dublin City University
Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...
in March 2016, citing his recent advocacy:
In 2019 the Bar Council of Ireland
The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...
awarded Tomi a Human Rights Award in recognition of his work promoting tolerance, remembrance and reconciliation.[TOMI REICHENTAL: ''It starts with whispers, then it’s murder'', by Ray Lucey in Changing Ireland, March 24, 202]
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichental, Tomi
1935 births
20th-century Irish people
21st-century Irish people
Living people
Czechoslovak emigrants to Ireland
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors