The University is deeply saddened to announce the death of Honorary Graduate Dora Love.

Born in Lithuania, Dora was deported to the Stutthoff concentration camp near Danzig (Gdansk) with her mother, sister and one brother. All, except Dora, perished.

Although Stutthof was the only camp never liberated, Dora was one of a group that reached Neustadt/Holstein, on barges, on 3 May 1945. There she worked on translations for war crime trials for the British Army, UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) and the American Joint Distribution Committee.

After her marriage to Frank Love, a member of the British Army, she was reunited with her father in 1946. Her husband’s work took her to South Africa, where her two children were born. They later settled in Colchester and Dora educated younger generations about the Holocaust. Dora was presented with an Honorary Doctorate by the University in 2009.

Professor Rainer Schulze, Director of the Human Rights Centre, paid this tribute to her: 'Dora Love's achievement is not one single book, one great invention, or one important painting. Her lasting achievement is her whole life, her struggle to make a comprehensive story out of the incomprehensible atrocities she endured, her strength and determination to tell her story again and again. With her clear moral values, her amazing enthusiasm and energy, and her unpretentiousness and unconditional kindness she managed to engage people of all ages all backgrounds and all nationalities with her message of tolerance and the importance of human rights.'

He added: 'Dora Love took her honorary degree very seriously and was a superb ambassador for the University on her many travels, most recently to South Africa in August/September 2011, where she gave a number of addresses. She always introduced herself as an honorary graduate of the University.

Dora developed close links with the University and in particular with the Department of History. She attended many events that the Department organised and regularly acted as a guest speaker in the modules on the Third Reich. Her first-hand accounts of life under the Nazi regime was an invaluable experience for our students. Needless to say, she attended all activities the University organised as part of its annual Holocaust Memorial Week commemorations.'

You can watch Dora Love's honorary doctorate presentation by accessing one of the following links:
mms://sernt3.essex.ac.uk/public/dora_love_oration.wmv
http://sernt3.essex.ac.uk/public/dora_love_oration.wmv