Holocaust Centre North

Holocaust Centre North is open to all, telling a global history of the Holocaust through local stories from the North of England.

Based at The University of Huddersfield.

05/06/2026

Moritz Nachtstern, born in 1902, was a Norwegian Jew, whose skills as a typographer helped him survive the Holocaust.

From March 1943 to February 1945, he was a prisoner at Sachsenhausen concentration camp where he became one of a group of prisoners forced to work on Operation Bernhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history.

Using their skills as printers, artists, and engravers, prisoners were forced to produce forged British banknotes as part of a N**i plan to destabilise the UK economy. For many involved, including Moritz, this work offered a greater chance of survival, but came at an immense personal and moral cost.

Join us on the 18th June for a special event with Moritz Nachtstern’s granddaughter, Ulla Nachtstern, who will explore her grandfather’s extraordinary story of persecution, survival, and resilience.

Afterwards we will be hearing from our Head of Learning, Hannah Randall, with British bank note collector and collection donor, Andy Taylor.

Tickets are available through our website:
https://holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk/events/

🕓 5:30pm, Thursday 18th June
📍Holocaust Centre North, located in the Swann Building, at the University of Huddersfield's campus

📷 Courtesy of Sidsel Nachtstern

04/06/2026

in 1990, the UK War Crimes Bill was debated in the House of Commons. The proposed legislation sought to allow British courts to prosecute suspected N**i war criminals living in the UK who had become British citizens or residents. Before this, UK courts could not put on trial individuals for crimes committed overseas by people who were not British citizens at the time of the alleged offences.

The bill was discussed after growing public concern that individuals involved in atrocities committed during the Holocaust and the Second World War had settled in Britain without facing justice. However, not everyone supported the legislation, including some survivors who questioned whether justice could still be achieved so many years later.

This letter was written by Erwin Vernon in response to the War Crimes Bill. Erwin, born in 1919 in Frankfurt, emigrated to England in 1933, however his parents were deported to Sobibor where they were murdered. In his letter, Vernon argues that it would be too difficult to track perpetrators down so many years later and the process of putting perpetrators on trial would bring up too many ‘filthy memories’ for the survivors.

His response highlights the complexity of post-war debates about justice, accountability, memory, and the long-lasting impact of the Holocaust.

The War Crimes Act was eventually passed in 1991, giving UK courts the power to prosecute certain N**i-era war crimes committed during the Second World War. To date only one person has been convicted under the War Crimes Act.

31/05/2026

Rudi Leavor was born in Berlin in 1926.

Until Hi**er came into power in 1933, Rudi’s family lived a happy life in Germany. In 1936 the family were forced to leave Germany after his parents’ brief imprisonment by the Gestapo. Rudi’s mother and father took multiple separate journeys to England in order to obtain a family visa and his father was able to secure permission of the Dental Board to work as a dentist in the UK.

On 10 November 1937, the family arrived in Bradford, where Rudi attended grammar school and learned English. After completing his national service Rudi attended dental school to follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a dentist. In 1955, Rudi married Marianne, settling in Bradford where they started their family and Rudi opened his own dental practice.

It was not until later in his life that Rudi learned the unfortunate fate of his wider relatives, who were killed during the Holocaust. He went on to tell his and his family’s stories to spread awareness, emphasising the importance of everyone, no matter their age, being educated in the tragedies of the Holocaust in order to prevent something similar happening ever again. “If you take a spark to a haystack, it’s only a small thing but within a matter of minutes it can be turned into a raging inferno,” educating to combat misunderstandings and hatred can stop this spread. His efforts in community and interfaith relations were recognised when he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2017.

Rudi sadly passed away in 2021, aged 95. He is remembered by all who knew him.

This post was written by Jess, one of our student placements studying History at

📷 Photograph of Rudi and Marianne outside their home in Bradford 2007. Holocaust Centre North Archive, courtesy of the Leavor family

28/05/2026

Today is Genocide Remembrance Day in Namibia, commemorating the estimated 75,000 Ovaherero and Nama people killed by German colonial forces between 1904 and 1908.

The Centre of Archaeology at the University of Huddersfield have been investigating mass graves linked to the 1904–1908 genocide. Using archival research, aerial mapping and non-invasive forensic techniques, the project has identified and documented thousands of potential burial sites in Swakopmund and Lüderitz, helping preserve evidence of colonial atrocities and support ongoing efforts for recognition, protection and reparations. They have also been working with Namibian organisations to educate about the genocide.

To find out more about their work in Namibia, visit us this week to see their temporary exhibition at Holocaust Centre North, which closes on 8th June.

27/05/2026

📢 We are recruiting an Archivist at Holocaust Centre North.

We are seeking an experienced Archivist to join the Holocaust Centre North team as we deliver Homeward Bound II – an exciting project to expand, catalogue and digitise the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association (HSFA) Archive between 2026-2028. This role is initially a 3-year contract at 0.8FTE.

📩 Find out more via https://holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk/about/opportunities/
📅 Deadline: Tuesday 2nd June 2026.
📸 Our volunteer Ruth repackaging a collection of photographs from Holocaust Centre North Archive, courtesy of the Kubie family.

26/05/2026

Wishing a blessed Eid al-Adha to all our supporters who are celebrating 🌙

21/05/2026

Wishing everyone who celebrates a happy Shavuot!

Making cheesecake for tonight? 🍰

Check out this recipe from Rosl Schatzberger’s 1935 edition of Olga and Adolf Hess’ “Wiener Küche”.

📷 Holocaust Centre North Archive, courtesy of Lesley Schatzberger and family.

17/05/2026

The Centre will be closed tomorrow.

We look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday 19th May, at 10am.

16/05/2026

Did you know that the N**is used prisoners at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp to forge British bank notes to try to destroy the economy?

Initially, the plan was to air drop the notes into Britain but the notes they produced were of such high quality that they were used to fund N**i intelligence operations, and £100,000 in counterfeit money was used to help free Mussolini during the 1943 Gran Sasso Raid.

To find out more, join us next week for a talk by our Head of Learning, Hannah Randall, and British bank note collector and collection donor, Andy Taylor.

🕓 5:30pm, Thursday 21st May
📍Holocaust Centre North, located in the Swann Building, at the University of Huddersfield's campus

To reserve your space, visit our website:
https://holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk/events/operation-bernhard-exhibition-opening/

📷 Holocaust Centre North Archive, Courtesy of Andy, Nora & Gordon Taylor

15/05/2026

Tune into to listen to our Head of Communities, Dr El Stannage chat with , a social/support group for over 50's LGBT+ in Manchester.

Link in below ⬇️
https://www.mixcloud.com/allfm969/out-on-the-radio-2pm-tuesday-7th-april-2026/

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