Hilel Storch, who negotiated the safe delivery during World War II of thousands of concentration camp survivors and refugees to the Allied armies, died yesterday in Stockholm just short of his 81st birthday, it was reported here today by the World Jewish Congress.
One of the unsung heroes in the rescue of Jews during the war and after, Storch arrived in Stockholm as a refugee from Riga. In Stockholm, as the official representative of the WJCongress and of the Jewish Agency, he devoted all of his time, energy and resources to the work of preserving Jewish life.
His initiatives during the war led to the liberation of several thousand concentration camp inmates and their transfer to Sweden. In subsequent efforts, Storch played a crucial role in obtaining the admission to Sweden of 20,000 camp survivors, 10,000 of whom suffered from tuberculosis.
Throughout the post-war period he campaigned to secure political and material support for Israel, particularly in the intensely critical period immediately preceding and following the creation of the State of Israel.
Last year, the WJCongress established a fund in honor of Storch’s 80th birthday to enable a comprehensive study to be undertaken of the rescue work in Sweden during and after World War II and to make possible thereby the proper historical recording of Starch’s role and accomplishments during that fateful period.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
