Holocaust survivor Zigi Shipper reportedly died on his 93rd birthday on January 18, 2023, in United Kingdom.
Following his death Tributes flooded in from across and beyond the Jewish community.
Taking to their official Twitter account on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, The Prince and Princess of Wales wrote: “In 2017, we had the honour to meet Holocaust survivor, Zigi Shipper on our visit to Stutthof”.
‘We were sad to learn earlier today of his passing. He will be truly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. W&C.”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also said; he was ‘a man with wonderful, wonderful energy and humanity’.
Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) also wrote: “How do I describe Zigi? He was the most energetic, charismatic, charming, and brilliant person to have around”.
“A man full of spirit with a devastating story to tell about his past, yet always sharing a message of hope and love”.
“Despite everything he went through, despite being a survivor – when I hear his name, I smile. Because above all, Zigi was a man of joy”.
“He was wonderful to be around, found fun everywhere he went and he was full of love – for his family, for the people around him, for life.”
Zigi Shipper was born on January 18, 1930 in Lodz, Poland. At age 10, he was forced into the Lodz ghetto along with his grandparents by the Nazis. There, he was made to work in a metal factory.
In 1944, when the Ghetto was liquidated, Shipper and his grandmother were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
After a few weeks, Shipper was moved to Stutthof concentration camp before being sent on a death march in 1945. He was liberated by British troops on May 3, 1945, and arrived in the UK in 1947. Shipper spent over two decades sharing his testimony in schools across the country,
In 2016, Zigi was awarded a British Empire Medal for his work with the HET.
In 2017, he accompanied the Prince and Princess of Wales on a royal visit to Stutthof, where he was able to meet his lifelong friend and fellow prisoner, Manfred Goldberg.
In 2022, King Charles commissioned a portrait of Zigi, which hangs in Buckingham Palace alongside six other holocaust survivors.