Auschwitz survivor’s legacy to fund research at university

Scotland’s last Auschwitz survivor has left a £500,000 legacy in her will to the University of Strathclyde which will be used to fund scientific research.

Judith Rosenberg died in January aged 98 and was described by the university as “a great friend and supporter”.

The funds will be used to create the Harold and Judith Rosenberg Chair in Quantum Technology and the Harold and Judith Rosenberg Quantum Technology Laboratories.

Born in Hungary in 1922, Ms Rosenberg was deported with her family to the Nazi concentration camp in occupied Poland in 1944.

She was liberated in 1945 with her mother and sister by US soldiers and later became an interpreter for the British Army.

She met her future husband, Lieutenant Harold Rosenberg, a Scottish artillery officer, and the two married in Germany and later settled in Glasgow.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, principal and vice-chancellor of the university, said: “Judith Rosenberg was a great friend and supporter of the University of Strathclyde and I was deeply saddened by her passing.

“I always found my meetings with Judith both inspiring and enjoyable, her unstinting interest in science and engineering was a consistent topic for our conversations.

“She was immensely interested in our research activities and achievements at Strathclyde and had expressed her desire to support the advancement of science and technology through this substantial legacy gift.”

The new position created in Ms Rosenberg’s honour will be funded for an initial period of five years but the university expects it to become self-sustaining in the long term.

Professor Paul McKenna, head of the department of physics at the university, said: “Judith Rosenberg’s bequest is extremely generous and will help us to advance quantum technology research and understanding at Strathclyde.

“The new chair in quantum technology will have an impact on our department and university for many years to come, which will be a fitting and lasting legacy to a truly remarkable woman and her beloved husband.”

Ms Rosenberg was born in Gyor, Hungary, on September 3 1922 to Zsigmond and Irene Weinberger, and worked as an apprentice watchmaker.

She studied at Budapest University but returned home when anti-Semitic attacks on campus increased.

After being sent to the notorious concertation camp, she was separated from her father whom she never saw again.

She credited his advice – to always choose the hardest option offered by the Nazi guards – for helping her survive.

Following his final words, she volunteered to work in a munitions factory in Lippstadt.

Her knowledge of watchmaking and physics helped her gain extra rations – which she shared with her mother and sister – thanks to mending German officers’ watches.