2023-07-31 17:29:04
The native of Vienna and Holocaust survivor was 100 years old
Vienna (PK) – For his commitment to combating anti-Semitism, Zwi Nigal, who was born in Vienna, was awarded the Simon Wiesenthal Prize last year together with three other eyewitnesses. Zwi Nigal fled Austria as a 16-year-old following the “Anschluss” and fought in the British army once morest Nazi Germany, among other things. He lectured at schools in Germany and Austria, including at his former school, Gymnasium on Zirkusgasse in Vienna’s second district. In April of this year he celebrated his 100th birthday. Now he died in Israel.
“It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to Zwi Nigal. The Holocaust survivor and extraordinary eyewitness was the 1st Simon Wiesenthal Prize winner of Parliament because of his tireless commitment to justice and a culture of remembrance. It was an extraordinary honor for me to present him with this prize in Jerusalem to hand it over,” emphasizes National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka.
The Simon Wiesenthal Prize has been awarded annually since 2022 as a sign of Austria’s special historical responsibility. The National Fund of the Republic for Victims of National Socialism set up by the Austrian Parliament is responsible for awarding the prize.
fight for peace and freedom
Zwi Nigal was born Hermann Heinz Engel in Vienna in 1923. In January 1939 he fled to Palestine. His mother arrived there five years later. His father was a railway employee at the Nordbahnhof in Vienna and was murdered in Auschwitz. At the age of 18, Nigal enlisted in the British Army, where he fought as an infantryman in Italy during World War II. The war ended for him in Tarvisio on the border with Carinthia. In 1946 he returned to Vienna as a British soldier. But he didn’t want to live there anymore. He joined the Haganah and fought in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. He served as a soldier for a total of 27 years, later switching to industry.
Zwi Nigal never tired of reporting on what National Socialism and the persecution of the Jews meant. “May Zwi Nigal’s legacy help to create a world of peace and tolerance,” says National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka. “I will always honor his memory. My condolences go out to his family and everyone who knew and loved him. May he rest in peace.” (close) red
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