AN 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who sought sanctuary from the Nazis in the UK as a young child, attended the Queen’s garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Otto Deutsch was invited to the event in honour of his contribution to Holocaust commemoration and education in the UK.

As a young boy, Mr Deutsch travelled to the UK from his hometown of Vienna, Austria, on the Kindertransport, a UK programme that rescued 10,000 Jewish children escaping persecution, by bringing them to safety in the UK.

Following the event at the palace he said: “It was an experience I will never forget. The weather was superb and to be meeting all those people was wonderful.

“I was there in Buckingham Palace sitting next to an ambassador and mayors with their chains of office. I felt elated even at my time of life.

“I didn’t speak to the Queen, but I saw her several times. It was something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Mr Deutsch, who lives in Southchurch, shares his personal story of survival on Holocaust Memorial Day and throughout the year, to inform people about the Holocaust and warn of the dangers of hatred today.

The son of a pastry cook, he spent his early childhood in Vienna during the years in which the Nazi party grew to power. He saw at first hand some of the atrocities inflicted on fellow Jews.

In July 1939, his mother queued all night to get him a place on a train out of Vienna.

He left for England, and never saw his father, mother or beloved older sister again.

They perished after being taken to the extermination camp of Maly Trostinec.

Mr Deutsch said: “The story has to be told, because there will come a time when there will be no one left to tell it.

“There will be books and DVDs, but there will be no survivors left to go into schools to remind young people of this terrible era in history.

“Three or four years ago, when I was still fit enough to do the journey, I went to the place where my parents and sister were shot.

“There is clearing in a wood near Minsk in Belarus. That’s where my lovely sister, a 21- year-old girl, was killed.

“I am glad I made the journey.

It’s why I go to schools, to make sure others don’t forget.”

Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated each year on January 27 – the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The day provides an opportunity for everyone to learn lessons from the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and subsequent genocides and apply them to the present day to create a safer, better future.

This years marks the 70-year anniversary marking the end of the Holocaust.

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust nominated survivors and refugees to attend the garden parties in recognition of their extensive support of Holocaust commemoration and education.