A Stanmore war survivor has been posthumously honoured with a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Abraham Heinrich Wermuth was awarded a BEM for his services to Holocaust education and awareness.
Abraham was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1923 and moved to London after the war. He is thought to be the last man alive to have tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler and has had a documentary made about his exploits.
Ilana Metzger has been inspired by her father’s war experiences and has produced a documentary called Breathe Deeply My Son to document the experiences that he went through during the Holocaust which eventually led him to write his autobiography of the same name.
He spoke in schools and other institutions both here and in Germany.
Unfortunately, Abraham died before the Queen’s Jubilee honours list recognised his efforts, but Ilana is “extremely” proud of him.
Speaking on her late fathers award, Ilana Metzger said: “It will be nice to let people know that his work was recognised when I tell his story. I know my father would have wanted us to celebrate but as the honour was a little bittersweet, we kept it very low key and we just had a little drink with members of the community at our local synagogue.
“My father did what he did to show people what hatred and racism can do. He never felt any hatred towards the German people and wants to teach people that terrible things can develop just by using hate filled words.
“Germany was considered one of the most advanced and civilised countries on earth and yet they voted for a leader who plotted to murder every Jew in Europe just because of who they were. There is much to be learned from this horrific time in history where 6 million Jews were murdered as well as disabled people, gypsies and anyone who didn’t fit in with Hitler’s idea of his perfect Aryan race.”
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