Judith Rosenberg: Tributes paid to Holocaust campaigner after her death at age of 98

Now, after her death at the age of 98, the East Renfrewshire woman is being hailed as a shining light in ongoing efforts to make sure those same shameful events are never forgotten.

Judith’s place in history was assured when she became Scotland’s last Holocaust survivor.

She died just five days before the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz – the infamous German Nazi concentration camp where she spent some months towards the end of the Second World War.

Judith, her mother Irene and sister Kati all survived their time at the death camp.

They were forced there from their home town of Gyor, Hungary, in April 1944, along with Judith’s father Zsigmond Weinberger, who was a timber merchant.

After being rescued by American troops in 1945, Judith worked as a translator at British military headquarters in Germany, where she met and married Scottish army officer Harold Rosenberg in 1946.

The couple moved to Glasgow that same year and she opened a children’s clothes shop in St George’s Cross before settling in Giffnock.

Judith and Harold enjoyed a long and happy marriage

Ethne Woldman MBE, former chief executive of the charity Jewish Care Scotland and a close friend of Judith for more than 30 years, describes her as “an amazing person and a true survivor.”

“She spoke four languages and had an encyclopaedic knowledge,” said Ethne.

“Judith could recite the majority of the periodic table, tell you about the planets and the plot of any opera or classic English novel.

“She had a tremendous intellect but also a wicked sense of humour.

Judith’s grandmother was separated from the family after leaving Gyor and they never saw her again.

On the way to Auschwitz, Judith, her parents and sister were crammed into a cattle train alongside hundreds of others,

Many did not survive the tortuous journey.

On arrival, the men were sent to the left and the women to the right.

It was the last time Judith saw her father.

Mr Weinberger’s final words to his family were: “If the Nazis ever give you two options, always choose the harder option. They will have their own motives.”

The infamous Auschwitz death camp

His advice saved their lives when Nazi officers asked those unable to walk to board trucks next to the station platform.

Judith, Kati and Irene chose to walk the remaining three kilometres to the concentration camp, while those who chose the trucks were never seen again.

After passing selection by notorious geneticist Dr Josef Mengele, the women were told to take off their clothes and were then shaved and given a short, cold shower.

While growing up, Judith wanted to be an astrophysicist but had to leave Budapest University when persecution of Jews began.

She became a watchmaker – a skill which would later save her life and those of her mother and sister.

After a few months in Auschwitz, they were moved to a munitions factor in Germany to make grenades.

She fixed the machines by day and the watches of Nazi officers at night.

For that, Judith was rewarded with extra soup, which she shared with her mother and sister.

In April 1945, as the Allies advanced, all three were marched into the mountains, where they were abandoned by troops who knew the war was lost.

They were liberated by the Americans the next day.

For 50 years, Judith volunteered with Jewish Care Scotland.

In recent weeks, her health deteriorated after several falls.

She was looked after by a care team at her sheltered accommodation in Giffnock until her death on January 22.

Four days later, Judith was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Glasgow’s Western Necropolis, next to Harold, who died in 2005.

Ethne, 75, a retired social worker, said: “Judith was very kind and caring. Her father taught her to value people and not judge.

“She didn’t like to talk about conditions in Auschwitz, where she endured so much degradation, but was happy to tell young people about how she, her sister and mother survived.”

More than one million men, women and children lost their lives in Auschwitz.

After the war, Judith learned her father had died in a slave labour camp in Germany.

She is survived in Hungary by her only blood relative, Erika Marosi, who is the daughter of her sister Kati.

Last week, East Renfrewshire MP Kirsten Oswald paid tribute to Judith in the House of Commons to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

The SNP politician said: “Judith’s tireless work made a huge difference to so many and she will be much missed.

“Her positive attitude, despite the horrors of her younger days, is a testament to the human spirit."

Eastwood MSP Jackson Carlaw added: "What a remarkable woman she was.

Harold and Judith on their wedding day in 1946, not long after she was liberated

“Judith’s testimony and that of so many other families here in East Renfrewshire will ensure that this community leads Scotland in commemorating and remembering all those who perished in the Holocaust.”

East Renfrewshire Provost Jim Fletcher believes no-one can imagine the terror Judith and her family experienced at Auschwitz.

He added: “She bravely used her experiences to educate children and young people on the horrors of the Holocaust.

“Because Judith courageously shared her story, the human history of the Holocaust will live on.”