Educator and Holocaust Survivor Mala Tribich MBE has received CCJ’s Bridge Award at a ceremony at the House of the Lords. The Bridge Award recognizes those who have built bridges between faith communities and has previously been awarded to HM The King, Rabbi Lord Sacks, Prof. Amy-Jill Levine and others.
 

Mala Tribich was born in Piotrkow, Poland. When Mala was nearly 9 years old, the Nazis invaded Poland and over the next five and a half years Mala lost her parents, sister, and most of her extended family. At the age of 12, Mala became a slave labourer when the Piotrkow ghetto was finally liquidated. After 18 months, Mala and her cousin Ann were deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp. She was then deported to Bergen Belsen concentration camp in cattle cars where she was infected with typhus.
 
On the 15th April 1945, Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British and Mala was sent to Sweden to recuperate. Here, she found out that her brother Ben Helfgott was the only other member of her family to survive, and he was in England. Mala and Ben reunited in 1947 in England, where Mala rebuilt her life. Mala married Maurice in 1950 and they had two children. While their children were growing up, Mala gained a degree in Sociology from the University of London.
 
Mala has shared her story with tens of thousands of people across the country: mostly school students, but also government departments, businesses, and universities. Mala’s work in educating others was recognised by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 when she received an MBE. Mala, who is a member of Barnet United Synagogue, continues regularly sharing her testimony.
Sponsored by former CCJ Trustee Lord Kevin Shinkwin, the brief ceremony was held in the River Room at the House of Lords. Attendees included Jewish and Christian leaders, representatives from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, Peers, and Tribich’s friends and family.
 
Introduced in 2017 for CCJ’s 75th anniversary, the Bridge Award is an annual award for someone who has made an exceptional and leading contribution to building bridges between peoples, in a Christian-Jewish or wider setting. Recent winners include HM The King; the late former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; and Lord Rothschild. Previous winners also include scholar Prof Amy-Jill Levine, Rabbi Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, Chief Rabbi from 1991-2013, and the Smith family for their work on Holocaust education.

Chief Rabbi Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth and CCJ President, said, ‘I am delighted to send my warmest congratulations to Mala Tribich MBE on receiving CCJ’s Bridge Award. Mala has made it her life’s mission to educate others, especially young people, about the horrors of the Shoah so that the world never forgets the depths to which humanity can sink when the politics of hatred are allowed to flourish unchecked. I count myself among the many people who have been inspired by Mala and she is a most worthy winner of this award.’

Chair of CCJ Bishop Sarah Bullock said, ‘The CCJ Board is deeply honoured to recognize a leader and educator like Mala Tribich with the Bridge Award. It is testimony to the resilience of the human spirit that someone who endured so much at such a young age has been able to educate so many through her teaching as well as through her work with her local CCJ branch. Her teaching and example are needed now more than ever at a time of high rates of antisemitism and friction between faiths in the UK.’

On receiving this award, Mala Tribich said,  

‘I am deeply honoured to be the recipient of the Bridge Award this year. It is particularly meaningful to me as I meet young people and adults from every faith group, ethnic and other community groups across the country. Talking about my experiences during the Holocaust I aim to help create more understanding, tolerance and humanity.’