Natasha Kaplinsky awarded OBE for services to Holocaust education

Veteran newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky was awarded an OBE from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace during an investiture ceremony.

The broadcaster, known for reading the news on the BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 5, was given her honour for services to Holocaust commemoration.

She interviewed and recorded the testimonies of more than 100 Holocaust survivors as part of an 18-month project.

Kaplinsky said she spent time collating the stories of the Nazi death camp survivors so that “children like mine will be able to understand what actually happened at one of the darkest moments of our history”.

She added: “One of the questions that I asked all of the survivors was whether they felt like anything had changed, and for them they said no, they felt that actually we hadn’t learnt any lessons from the past, and that is an extremely upsetting thing to hear after the suffering and trauma they had experienced.”

Speaking about her experience at the Palace, Kaplinsky said: “I had done a lot of curtsies in the past, so I kind of knew what I was doing.”

Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust said: “Unfortunately we know that the survivors we work with are becoming fewer and frailer, and thanks to the immense time, dedication and commitment of Natasha Kaplinsky, their stories will be preserved for generations to come. This is a well-deserved honour for someone who has gone above and beyond and is held in great esteem by our Holocaust survivors.”

Olivia Marks-Woldman – Chief Executive, Holocaust Memorial Day Trust said: ‘We are delighted that Natasha Kaplinsky has been awarded an OBE for her tireless commitment to Holocaust education. Her work to collect more than 100 testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust demonstrated her compassion, for which she has rightfully been recognised.’