The World Jewish Congress mourns the death of Roman Kent a survivor of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps who was one of the driving forces in the efforts to provide compensation and restitution to Holocaust survivors. Born in Lodz in 1929, Kent was President of the International Auschwitz Committee, Chairman of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, and a former Treasurer of the Conference of Material Claims Against Germany as well as co-Chair of the Claims Conference negotiating committee.
Reacting to the news of Kent’s passing, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S Lauder said: “Roman Kent was an inspirational figure who devoted himself throughout his life to providing justice to the survivors of the Holocaust. I was in awe of his life-long commitment to the cause of Holocaust remembrance. He was a man who sought justice, not revenge, and who looked to the future instead of the past. I vividly recall his moving address at Auschwitz on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of that Nazi death camp’s liberation when he declared: ‘We do not want our past to be our children’s future.’
On behalf of the more than 100 Jewish communities across the globe affiliated with the World Jewish Congress, I extend our deepest condolences to Roman’s children, grandchildren, and his entire family. May his memory be for a blessing.”
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