My father Harry Bibring, founder of Rishon Multiple Sclerosis Aid Group, who has died aged 93, spoke to some 50 to 60 schools every year about his experiences of the Holocaust. He dedicated his life to Holocaust education in the hope of eradicating prejudice and hate.
He was one of a small number of survivors who accompanied Prince Charles on a tour of Jewish Vienna in 2017, and was a frequent guest of honour and spokesman at various Holocaust events.
Harry founded Rishon Multiple ScIerosis Aid Group in the mid 1960s as a support group for sufferers of MS and their families. He was extremely active in Dollis Hill Synagogue, first on the parents’ association and board management before becoming a warden for some 20 years before moving to Bushey.
He was born in Vienna, the son of Leah and Michael Bibring. After Kristallnacht in November, 1938 Harry came to England on the Kindertransport with his sister Gerry. They were aged 13 and 15 respectively. Sadly his parents did not survive. His father had a heart attack and died in the van on the way to a concentration camp and is buried in the Jewish part of a cemetery in Vienna. Leah was murdered in Sobibor.
Harry qualified as an engineer through 14 years of night school and after moving into industry and part-time teaching he changed careers to become a full-time senior lecturer at Middlesex University until his retirement. He married Muriel Gold in 1947, a marriage lasting almost 62 years before she passed away in 2009.
He was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2017 New Years Honours list. Last year my son Lee and I took part in the World Jewish Relief bike ride from Berlin to Liverpool Street station to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport, and it was an extraordinary moment when my dad jumped on a tricycle tandem with me for the last mile and we all crossed the line together.
He was the busiest man we knew, constantly hopping from educational event to packed social life, telling his story at schools and keeping up with his seemingly endless bridge games. In a tribute, Karen Pollack of the Holocaust Educational Trust described Harry Bibring as an unstoppable combination of tzaddik and a rockstar.
He is survived by myself, his daughter-in-law Linda, grandchildren Lee and Nikki and great grandchildren Rafi, Eli, Joey and JJ.
MICHAEL BIBRING
Harry Bibring: born December 26, 1925. Died January 7, 2019
