Holocaust survivor Heinz Skyte dies at 99
Leeds United fan who fled Nazi Germany aged 19 joined his brother Frank in the city where he worked in a clothing factory
Holocaust survivor Heinz Skyte, who witnessed the horrors of the Kristallnacht pogrom, has died at 99.
Skyte fled Nazi Germany at 19 after obtaining a visa, joining his brother Frank in Leeds in 1939, where he worked in a clothing factory.
His parents made a miraculous escape just four days before the Second World War broke out, and the family was reunited in Leeds.
But in 1940, Skyte and his family were classed as enemy aliens and detained in internment camps on the Isle of Man and in Canada until 1942.
Later, Skyte married a Kindertransport refugee Thea and the pair were granted British citizenship in 1947.
Skyte, who was made an MBE in 1976 for his dedication to community work, joined the Leeds Jewish Welfare Board in 1951, which offers care and community support services in North Leeds and where he remained until 1985.
Skyte’s story is one of 16 testimonies told in an exhibition at Huddersfield University’s Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre.
He was a founding member of the Holocaust Survivors’ Friendship Association, a group of Holocaust survivors and refugees based in Leeds and the charity behind the centre.
Emma King, director of the centre, said Skyte will be “badly missed by all those who knew him,” describing him as a “dear friend with a keen sense of humour.”
King paid tribute to Skyte for speaking out “tirelessly about the dangers of political extremism, scapegoating and persecution, visiting schools and community groups to share his story.”
“In latter years Heinz as our oldest member was the only person in our community with clear memories of Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s which made his testimony all the more valuable for young people,” she said.
A devoted Leeds United fan, he was honoured by the club’s chairman Andrea Radrizzani in a pitch-side ceremony last month and received a personalised shirt and scarf.
Speaking to BBC News after the ceremony, Skyte recounted his arrival to Leeds over 80 years ago. “We dropped my case there and went straight to Elland Road,” he said.
“I thought I knew English but I didn’t understand a word because of course they spoke with a Yorkshire accent, much more so than today.”
A spokesperson for Leeds United paid tribute to Skyte on Friday.
“It is with deep sadness that Leeds United have today learnt of the passing of lifelong Leeds United supporter and Holocaust survivor Heinz Skyte, at the age of 99,” read a statement on the club’s website.
Leeds United fan Heinz Skyte who fled Nazis
In December we filmed with Heinz, who fled the Nazis in 1939 and became a lifelong Leeds United fan after arriving in the UK. Today it has been announced that he has passed away aged 99.Read more: https://bbc.in/2QnXGV8
פורסם על ידי BBC Yorkshire ב- יום שישי, 3 בינואר 2020
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
