Kindertransport refugee and Shoah educator Bob Kirk BEM dies aged 99

Holocaust survivor and educator Bob Kirk BEM has passed away at the age of 99.

Along with his wife, Ann, a fellow Kindertransport refugee whom he met at a club for young Jewish refugees and married in 1950, Kirk was involved in his local shul, the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John’s Wood, for over 70 years and regularly traversed the country to speak at schools and communities as part of his “tireless” dedication to Holocaust remembrance,

Born in Hanover, Germany in 1925 as the youngest of three children to a father who owned a textile business, Kirk described his early childhood, before the Nazis came to power in 1933, as “comfortable”.

In testimony given to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, he described life after the arrival of the Nazis: “New regulations were constantly imposed, making life for Jews more and more difficult. School was not too bad, until I started secondary education in 1936. Then there was much more bullying; my classmates were under orders not to associate with Jews – and usually we were made to sit at the back and not participate in the lesson.”

Kirk, born Rudolf Kirchheimer, recounted seeing boycotts and book burnings as a child, and witnessing a “sense of unease” within the Jewish community.

His father, believing his service in the German army during the First World War would keep the family safe, was reluctant to emigrate. It was only after Kristallnacht that Kirk’s parents arranged for his place on the Kindertransport.

He left Hanover on May 3, 1939, alone at the age of 13 and journeyed to Liverpool Street station in London. Kirk moved around several times soon after arriving in the UK, eventually finding stability living in the countryside after the outbreak of the war, where he stayed for two years until aged 16.

Kirk, who later joined the British Royal Artillery and trained as a gunner, managed to maintain regular letter correspondence with his parents throughout his first years in England, but that changed in 1941 when they were among the first to be transported out of Hanover by train to a concentration camp in Riga, Latvia.

In January this year, Kirk and his wife were awarded the Citron, Sivan and Sefton Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jewish Volunteering Network for their volunteering work at LJS.

After being awarded the prestigious prize, Benita Hart, chair of the LJS, told the JC: “Ann and Bob are part of the fabric of LJS. They have been involved in every element of the synagogue from the spirituality to the teaching. There is such a warmth and intelligence to them.”

The Holocaust Education Trust is “deeply saddened at the passing of our dear friend and Holocaust survivor” Bob Kirk BEM.

HET said Kirk, who was “fiercely intelligent, articulate and thoughtful”, refused to let “what happened to him and millions of others be forgotten and dedicated years of his life to tirelessly telling his story.

“His words will be remembered by all who heard them. He leaves behind a powerful legacy.”

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, too, said Kirk’s “unwavering dedication to ensuring future generations never forget the tragedy of the Shoah was truly remarkable. In a world that desperately needs to learn and uphold the lessons of the Shoah, may Bob’s memory forever be a blessing and remain a source of inspiration for all who carry his legacy forward.”

Kirk, who was awarded a BEM in 2019 for his contribution to Holocaust education, is survived by his wife, two sons and three grandchildren.