The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) is delighted to announce that Dr. Bea Lewkowicz, Director of the AJR’s Refugee Voices Testimony Archive, has been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours, for Services to Holocaust Remembrance and Education.
Dr. Lewkowicz has played a leading role in recording, preserving and making accessible the voices of Holocaust refugees and survivors, in the UK. Since co-founding the AJR Refugee Voices Archive in 2003, she has helped build the UK’s largest collection of Holocaust testimony and has recently led the development of the Holocaust Testimony UK Portal, a landmark national resource.
Michael Newman OBE, Chief Executive of AJR, said:
“Bea Lewkowicz’s work has transformed the way Holocaust testimony is shared in the UK ensuring that the culture, heritage and traditions of the refugees and survivors are preserved and is perpetuated. Her unwavering commitment to capturing the voices of AJR members and other survivors and to education for future generations makes this honour richly deserved.”
Michael Karp OBE, Chairman of AJR, said:
“Through her vision, scholarship and thoughtful approach, Bea has ensured that the experiences of Jewish victims of Nazi oppression are recorded with care and integrity and remain accessible at a time when they are needed more than ever.”
Andrew Kaufman MBE, AJR Life President, said:
“Bea’s lifelong dedication to testimony has created an extraordinary legacy. Her work stands at the heart of AJR’s mission and will continue to shape Holocaust remembrance for generations to come.”
Commenting on the award, Dr. Bea Lewkowicz said:
“I feel very honoured to have received this meaningful award for my work in Holocaust education and remembrance. My career has been guided by a belief in the enduring power of testimony. At a time when Holocaust denial and distortion and antisemitism is on the rise, and memory moves into history – I hope that the voices of the survivors will continue to shape Holocaust education, research, and public engagement, now and in the future.”
