Beloved Holocaust survivor Ann Kirk has died at the age of 96.
The Shoah educator passed away shortly before this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day just weeks after her husband Bob, a fellow Kindertransport refugee, passed away.
Ann was born in Berlin in 1928. After the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938, , she travelled to the UK alone on the Kindertransport. It was the last time she saw her parents.
Recording her testimony for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, she said: “We boarded an American ship at Hamburg and arrived in Southampton. Once there, we boarded a train for London and at Waterloo, wearing labels round our necks and carrying only a small suitcase, we waited for our names to be called out. When my name was called, I went to the barrier and there were these two ladies whom I recognised from the photographs.
Ann Kirk. Pic: Jewish Museum London
“In addition to my school lessons, mum had taught me some basic English so I managed to get by. At first, the ‘aunties’ sent me to a boarding school, which I hated, but later I was able to go to South Hampstead High School, which I enjoyed attending for the rest of my school life.
“There were quite a few other Jewish children at the school, many of whom were also refugees. I was able to write to my parents two or three times a week before the war. Once war had started, we were only allowed 25-word messages once a month each way through the Red Cross. In December 1942 we received a message from dad which said, ‘Sorry bad news. Mummy emigrated 14th December. Am terrified myself but confident of family reunion after the war’. In January there was one further message, but after that there was complete silence.”
Ann Kirk with husband Bob.
Ann and Bob met at a club for young Jewish refugees, run by Woburn House. They were married on 21 May 1950 and devoted their lives to supporting Holocaust education and Liberal Judaism.
In 2023, the couple were awarded the Citron, Sivan and Sefton Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jewish Volunteering Network for their volunteering work at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue.
Then Prince Charles meets refugees from Nazi Germany, Ann and Bob Kirk
Michael Newman, chief executive of the Association of Jewish Refugees, said: “We mourn the loss of our treasured member. Ann came to the UK, on the Kindertransport, in April 1939. Her parents were deported in 1942 and were tragically murdered in Auschwitz. Ann went to the London School of Printing and later became an editor. Ann married fellow Kinder, Bob, in 1950 having met at a club for young Jewish refugees and they raised two sons. Bob and Ann were kindred spirits – their relationship symbolised a message of hope born out of the horror of the Holocaust.
“The pair were involved with the AJR over the years and active Holocaust speakers and educators. The AJR is honoured to have captured Ann’s testimony as part of AJR Refugee Voices archive. She will be deeply missed by the whole community, and we send condolences to the family.”
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: “Ann dedicated her later life to Holocaust education, tirelessly sharing her testimony with thousands of young people across the country. She spoke with remarkable warmth, compassion, and resilience, often alongside her beloved husband, Bob.
“We will particularly remember Ann and are profoundly grateful for all she did to ensure the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten. May her memory be a blessing.
Bob and Ann Kirk leave behind two sons, David and Andrew, and three grandchildren.
- Click here to read Ann’s story via AJR’s Refugee Voices.
