The Holocaust Educational Trust is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend Otto Deutsch.
Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust said:
"Otto Deutsch dedicated many years of his life to educating the next generation about his safe passage to Britain on the Kindertransport, a journey which saved him from the horrors of the Holocaust but meant that he never saw his parents again. He was a lovely man with such a kind and gentle way about him – he will be sorely missed by all of us at the Holocaust Educational Trust."
Otto was born in Vienna in 1928. On Kristallnacht, the group of Nazis that broke into their home was led by one of Otto’s father’s oldest friends. They dragged him out of bed and arrested him. Otto never saw his father again.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Otto’s mother queued daily to try to get Otto on the Kindertransport to Britain. He was finally accepted and in July 1939, Otto arrived in England with his cousin. Initially there was no foster home arranged for them but eventually a couple, Mr and Mrs Ferguson, took them in and Otto, his cousin and two other boys went to live in Morpeth, Newcastle. After the war, Otto learned that his father Viktor, mother Wilma and sister Adele had been taken to Maly Trostenets extermination camp in Belarus, where they were shot.
Otto made a post-war career in London as a tour guide. He later settled in Southend-on-Sea, where he was an active member of the local Jewish community.