Hephzibah Rudofsky
Hephzibah Rudofsky (Kohn)
After graduating from the London School of Economics in 1986, Hephzibah pursued a career in medical research.
She moved to Zurich in the early 1990s, where she worked for a Swiss laboratory, initially on clinical trials and then as business development manager, a role she continued after her return to the UK a few years later.
In 2006 she entered the world of Holocaust education full time. She first took up the position of Schools Tour Director, and arranged for an innovative theatre production about the Holocaust to visit hundreds of schools in and around London. Building on the great reception that greeted this production, she formulated an educational component to teach the Holocaust to schoolchildren in a vivid and practical way.
Hephzibah’s passion for teaching the younger generation about the lessons of the Holocaust have taken her much closer to home. In 2009 Hephzibah set up the Schools Programme, ’Surviving the Holocaust’ – an interactive presentation with her mother, Zahava Kohn. Through first – hand testimony, Hephzibah and Zahava have been sharing Zahava’s story about the family’s experiences and survival in Westerbork and Bergen Belsen concentration camps and life after the war, providing schoolchildren with the important opportunity to learn about this pivotal time in history. Hephzibah and Zahava have spoken to tens of thousands of pupils from all backgrounds and creeds in schools all over the UK and also in Germany. There is an added dimensions to these presentations in the sense of it being a first and second generation, mother and daughter partnership and also because of the extraordinary documentation which is displayed during the presentations.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
In the words of a pupil:
“You read about this in history text books, internet resources, books, but to hear a story of a personal account from their own recollection is an amazing opportunity. This feels like it is a part of a moment in history. Uplifting and inspiring.”
In April 2015 Hephzibah was a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
In October 2015 Hephzibah was awarded the ‘Freedom of the City of London’ for her work in Holocaust education.
In June 2019 Hephzibah received the Points of Light Award from Prime Minister Theresa May in recognition for her work in Holocaust education.
Note to Schools:
Hephzibah will be giving the talk in collaboration with her mother, Lady Zahava Kohn – whose biography is viewable here: https://www.speakers4schools.org/speakers/Lady-Zahava-Kohn
http://www.survivingtheholocaust.co.uk