Latest news with #SS
Business Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
S$15.8 million deal at Leedon Residence tops Q2 resale gains with seller earning S$3.3 million profit
[SINGAPORE] A 8,051-square foot (sq ft) unit at Leedon Residence was sold for S$15.8 million in June, earning the seller a tidy S$3.3 million in profit after eight years – making it the most profitable transaction by quantum in the second quarter of 2025. The first-floor unit at the freehold luxury condominium in the prime District 10 was bought for S$12.5 million, or S$1,553 per square foot (psf), back in February 2017, according to data crunched for The Business Times by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. On a psf basis, the unit went at SS$1,962 psf in June 2025. With a holding period of 8.4 years, the annualised profit works out to 2.8 per cent, with the seller's gross gain amounting to about 26 per cent. Notably, resales at Leedon Residence have recently proved to be highly profitable, coming out on top in the last two quarters. In Q1, two of the five most profitable transactions were from the development, with a 6,125 sq ft unit topping the list with the sale price of S$16 million, with a gross gain of S$4 million. Prior to that, in Q4 2024, another two Leedon Residence units were among the five biggest winners, with profits ranging from S$2.6 million to S$3 million. Cushman's Q2 data also showed that the five biggest money-making transactions by quantum in the recent quarter were either freehold properties or those with a 999-year leasehold title, located in the prime Core Central Region (CCR) or Rest of Central Region (RCR). Such units tend to command a premium, noted Cushman & Wakefield research head Wong Xian Yang. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up In terms of percentage gains, executive condominium (EC) transactions proved yet again to be the most profitable in Q2, continuing a trend that emerged in Q1 2023. Of the top five winners, four were units at the Hundred Palms Residences EC along Yio Chu Kang Road. These apartments were held for an average of just under eight years before being sold for an 'attractively high profit' of 130 to 139 per cent, said Wong. He pointed out that 74 units have been sold since the development reached its five-year minimum occupation period in December 2024, with the majority seeing capital gains of more than 100 per cent. The most profitable EC transaction in Q2 was for a 2,121 sq ft unit at the 99-year leasehold The Tampines Trilliant. It was sold for S$2.9 million (S$1,362 psf) in June, up 143 per cent from the seller's original price of S$1.2 million (S$561 psf) in January 2012. Given a holding period of 13.4 years, this works out to an annualised profit of 6.8 per cent and the seller netting S$1.7 million in profit. Excluding ECs, the top five resale gainers by percentage were found in the city fringe and suburbs, with gross gains ranging from 92 to 119 per cent. Topping the list was a 1,098 sq ft unit at 284 Joo Chiat Road in District 15. The freehold unit was sold for S$1.9 million (S$1,717 psf) in May, more than double its original price of S$860,000 (S$783 psf) in February 2017. This works out to an annualised profit of 10 per cent over a holding period of 8.2 years. Biggest losses Cushman & Wakefield's data also tracks the biggest loss-making transactions on a quarterly basis. The deal that spilled the most red ink in Q2, in terms of both quantum and percentage, was a 2,056 sq ft unit at the 99-year leasehold Marina Bay Suites in District 1. It changed hands for S$4.1 million (S$1,985 psf) in June, about a third lower than its original price of S$6.1 million (S$2,985 psf) in December 2012. Based on a holding period of 12.4 years, this translates to annualised losses of 3.2 per cent. All the biggest losers in the quarter were located in the prime CCR and purchased during varying periods of the market cycle, Wong added. For its study, Cushman & Wakefield examined caveats for non-landed private homes that were transacted in Q2 2025 with a prior purchase history between January 2012 and June 2025. The analysis excluded transaction costs and taxes, such as buyer's stamp duty and seller's stamp duty. Overall, prime CCR properties accounted for 62 per cent of loss-making deals in Q2 of this year, caveat data of landed and non-landed private homes showed. The RCR accounted for 30 per cent of such deals; and the Outside Central Region, 9 per cent. While the CCR saw a larger share of loss-making deals, Wong noted that the majority of resale transactions in the region – at 79 per cent – were still profitable. On the other hand, the proportion of loss-making deals for landed and non-landed homes inched up to 3.3 per cent in Q2, from 2.7 per cent in the previous quarter. Still, the figure remains relatively low, hovering at this level over the past two years, after declining from its peak of 21.8 per cent in Q2 2020. Wong attributed the low levels of loss-making deals to homeowners' strong holding power as well as resilient upgrading demand for private homes amid still-low unemployment rates and strong household balance sheets. Government flash estimates indicated that growth in public housing resale prices had slowed to 0.9 per cent quarter on quarter in Q2, after prices rose 1.6 per cent in Q1, following their 9.6 per cent gain for the year of 2024. Given the growing resale prices, this may enable more Housing and Development Board flat owners to channel the proceeds of a sale to upgrade to a private home. Wong reckons that private residential prices are likely to rise around 2 to 3 per cent for the whole of 2025, easing slightly from the 3.9 per cent price growth in 2024. 'Barring new cooling measures and unforeseen economic shocks, the overall levels of loss-making deals are expected to remain low,' he added.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Dehradun civic body to roll out rebate-linked waste policy: Commissioner
Dehradun municipal commissioner Namami Bansal, in an interview with TOI's Tanmayee Tyagi, acknowledged that improvements are needed in the civic body's handling of door-to-door waste collection and source segregation. Once the cleanest city in Uttarakhand, Dehradun's ranking in the recently released Swachh Survekshan (SS) 2024 results slipped to 13th position statewide. It improved slightly in national rankings, from 68th to 62nd in the big city category, but its door-to-door waste collection dropped drastically from 96.5% to 48%, and waste processing fell from 78.5% to 27%. In order to combat this issue, Bansal on Saturday said a source segregation policy will be introduced soon, which will offer rebates in user charges so that the more a resident segregates their waste, the more rebate they will receive. Q: Even though there was a slight improvement in Doon's national ranking, the parameters are not very encouraging. What are the key takeaways from the current scores? The numbers are very clear. We need to make significant improvements in our door-to-door waste collection and source segregation. This time, we lost out on the garbage-free city and legacy waste criteria, but since the inspections for SS 2024, regular processing has been carried out at both our legacy waste sites. We've already made significant progress on that front. Since the corporation's takeover of door-to-door waste management, we've increased garbage collection to over 80%. We have our work cut out for us, and we're steadily taking steps to fix the situation. Q: What does Dehradun's fall in ranking within the state signify? It's important to understand that this comparison is not absolute. Changes in markings and indicative parameters mean that a comparison with previous years doesn't tell the whole story. Similarly, an absolute city-wise ranking is also not a fair comparison. A cantonment board or a municipality doesn't have the same indicators as a municipal corporation. A smaller city with less population has different challenges compared to a larger one, especially the state capital. Even the marking parameters are different. Also, unfortunately, when the inspections were happening in Dehradun, sanitation workers were on strike due to non-payment of wages. This irregularity was the primary reason why the corporation stepped in. Since we took over, we've managed to avoid such scenarios, and door-to-door collection has actually improved. If we're able to implement our plans, next year's Survekshan scores will reflect our efforts. Q: The need for source segregation has been an old one. Even the corporation has been saying so. How is DMC planning to achieve this? We are bringing in a specific source segregation policy and will introduce it soon. To encourage more people to carry out segregation, we'll offer rebates in user charges. The more you segregate your waste at the doorstep, the more rebate you'll receive. There's a need for massive public sensitisation on this front. If only 10% of people segregate their waste, it doesn't help the system, it all ends up mixed. But if everyone does it, we can actually build an effective waste management system with better processing at our collection centres. We'll also strengthen our challaning and enforcement to ensure compliance. Q: What else can be done to strengthen Doon's overall waste management? We're planning a decentralised approach to waste management. The compactors at Kargi were installed with this in mind. We're also working to enhance capacity so that the Harrawala model can be replicated in other wards. We already have some solutions, we just need to implement them. The idea of licensing commercial establishments is also part of this. Once we have a count of licensed bulk waste generators, we can track the waste they generate, how it's being disposed of, and take action on any non-compliance. For transparency, we're involving self-help groups in collecting user charges. We're on the right track, and stabilising Doon's waste management is a top priority for the corporation. Dehradun municipal commissioner Namami Bansal, in an interview with TOI's Tanmayee Tyagi, acknowledged that improvements are needed in the civic body's handling of door-to-door waste collection and source segregation. Once the cleanest city in Uttarakhand, Dehradun's ranking in the recently released Swachh Survekshan (SS) 2024 results slipped to 13th position statewide. It improved slightly in national rankings, from 68th to 62nd in the big city category, but its door-to-door waste collection dropped drastically from 96.5% to 48%, and waste processing fell from 78.5% to 27%. In order to combat this issue, Bansal on Saturday said a source segregation policy will be introduced soon, which will offer rebates in user charges so that the more a resident segregates their waste, the more rebate they will receive. Q: Even though there was a slight improvement in Doon's national ranking, the parameters are not very encouraging. What are the key takeaways from the current scores? The numbers are very clear. We need to make significant improvements in our door-to-door waste collection and source segregation. This time, we lost out on the garbage-free city and legacy waste criteria, but since the inspections for SS 2024, regular processing has been carried out at both our legacy waste sites. We've already made significant progress on that front. Since the corporation's takeover of door-to-door waste management, we've increased garbage collection to over 80%. We have our work cut out for us, and we're steadily taking steps to fix the situation. Q: What does Dehradun's fall in ranking within the state signify? It's important to understand that this comparison is not absolute. Changes in markings and indicative parameters mean that a comparison with previous years doesn't tell the whole story. Similarly, an absolute city-wise ranking is also not a fair comparison. A cantonment board or a municipality doesn't have the same indicators as a municipal corporation. A smaller city with less population has different challenges compared to a larger one, especially the state capital. Even the marking parameters are different. Also, unfortunately, when the inspections were happening in Dehradun, sanitation workers were on strike due to non-payment of wages. This irregularity was the primary reason why the corporation stepped in. Since we took over, we've managed to avoid such scenarios, and door-to-door collection has actually improved. If we're able to implement our plans, next year's Survekshan scores will reflect our efforts. Q: The need for source segregation has been an old one. Even the corporation has been saying so. How is DMC planning to achieve this? We are bringing in a specific source segregation policy and will introduce it soon. To encourage more people to carry out segregation, we'll offer rebates in user charges. The more you segregate your waste at the doorstep, the more rebate you'll receive. There's a need for massive public sensitisation on this front. If only 10% of people segregate their waste, it doesn't help the system, it all ends up mixed. But if everyone does it, we can actually build an effective waste management system with better processing at our collection centres. We'll also strengthen our challaning and enforcement to ensure compliance. Q: What else can be done to strengthen Doon's overall waste management? We're planning a decentralised approach to waste management. The compactors at Kargi were installed with this in mind. We're also working to enhance capacity so that the Harrawala model can be replicated in other wards. We already have some solutions, we just need to implement them. The idea of licensing commercial establishments is also part of this. Once we have a count of licensed bulk waste generators, we can track the waste they generate, how it's being disposed of, and take action on any non-compliance. For transparency, we're involving self-help groups in collecting user charges. We're on the right track, and stabilising Doon's waste management is a top priority for the corporation.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Knowledge Nugget: Why Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 Awards is a must-read for your UPSC exam
Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget on Swachh Survekshan awards and Swachh Bharat Mission for today. (Relevance: Since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the UPSC has included questions on this topic in both the Prelims and Mains examinations. In 2016, a Mains question was asked on 'How could social influence and persuasion contribute to the success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan?' In this regard, it is an important topic for your Prelims and Mains preparation.) Ahmedabad was named the cleanest big city in the country in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 awards, followed by Bhopal and Lucknow. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Ahmedabad for being the top city among those with a population of 10 lakh or above during the awards ceremony held at Vigyan Bhagwan, New Delhi. The awards, instituted under the Swachh Bharat Mission under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, were started in 2016 with 73 cities. This year, 4,589 cities were covered in the survey that was held from April 2024 to March 2025. 1. The goal of this survey is to encourage citizen participation and create awareness among all sections of society about the importance of working together in creating clean cities and towns to reside in. It is conducted under the ambit of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). 2. The 9th edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS) awards, which was announced by the President, has a revamped format. With Indore winning the tag of cleanest city for seven years in a row, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said last year that the next round of the Swachhata rankings will have a separate category for cities that have been ranked number one in the past, leaving the general competition open for new winners. 3. To address it, in this 9th edition of SS, a special category – Super Swachh League has been introduced, creating a separate league of cities excelling in cleanliness. This category recognises the cities that had been in the top three of their categories in the previous three years. 4. This new category, Super Swachh League Cities, included the previous winners Indore, Surat, and Navi Mumbai. Last year, Indore and Surat were jointly recognised as the cleanest cities, with Indore maintaining its top position for the seventh consecutive time. 5. It also said that for the first time ever, cities were classified into five population-based categories: (i) Very Small Cities (< 20,000 population) (ii) Small Cities (20,000 – 50,000 population) (iii) Medium Cities (50,000 – 3 Lakh population) (iv) Big Cities (3 – 10 Lakh population) (v) Million Plus Cities ( > 10 Lakh population) 5. Also, the Indicators have been simplified and structured into ten comprehensive sections, which cover the entire spectrum of urban sanitation and cleanliness. To maintain sanitation standards in key public spaces, a special emphasis has been placed on tourist destinations and high-footfall areas. 6. With the theme of 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R), the focus is on minimising wastage by using minimum resources and re-using them for the same purpose or other purposes. It also aligns with the Jaipur declaration, which was unanimously adopted at the 12th Regional 3R and Circular Economy Forum in Asia and the Pacific in March this year. 7. The awards were presented across four categories: Super Swachh League Cities, the top three clean cities in five population categories, Special category, and State-level awards – Promising clean city of the state/UT. In the special category: ↪ The Cleanest Ganga Town Award was given to Prayagraj. ↪ The Cleanest Cantonment Board Award was given to Secunderabad Cantt. ↪ The Safaimitra Surakshit Shehar Awards were given to Gvmc Visakhapatnam, Jabalpur, And Gorakhpur. ↪ A special mention was given in recognition of the special initiative of Swachh Mahakumbh 2025. Madhya Pradesh: Indore Gujarat: Surat Andhra Pradesh: Vijayawada Karnataka: Mysore Gujarat: Gandhinagar Madhya Pradesh: Ujjain Uttar Pradesh: Noida Union Territory: Chandigarh Chhattisgarh: Ambikapur Delhi: New Delhi Municipal Council Maharashtra: Lonavala Pravara Rajasthan: Dungarpur Maharashtra: Panchgani, Panhala Madhya Pradesh: Bundi (Source: Swachh Survekshan 2024-25) 1. Last year, Swachh Bharat Mission completed its 10 years on 2nd October. This was one of the first programmes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he took office in 2014. 2. The mission was divided into SBM-Gramin for villages, and SBM-Urban for cities, executed by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs respectively. Along with this, Swachh Bharat Kosh (fund) was also launched 'to facilitate channelisation of philanthropic contributions and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds' towards this cause. 3. SBM's focus areas were building individual toilets, community toilets, solid waste management, and leading awareness campaigns aimed at behavioural changes. 4. The PM announced that the SBM's main goal was to make India 'Open defecation-free' (ODF) by October 2, 2019, for which crores of household and community toilets had to be constructed. According to the ministry, 'A city/ ward can be notified/ declared as an ODF city/ ODF ward if, at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating in the open.' 5. In 2021, after the mission completed five years, the government launched SBM- Urban 2.0, with a focus on garbage-free cities, faecal sludge, plastic waste, capacity building, and greywater management. 6. Having achieved the ODF status, the government launched the phase II of the Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, w.e.f. 2020-21. According to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the objective of SBM-G phase II is 'to achieve Sampoorn Swachhata, i.e., sustaining the ODF status and managing solid and liquid waste by 2024-25 and transforming all the villages from ODF to ODF Plus Mode.' Consider the following statements: 1. For the past 7 years, Indore has been ranked first in the Super Swachh League of cities. 2. The 9th edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS) awards classified cities into five population-based categories. 3. The Cleanest Cantonment Board Award was given to Secunderabad Cantt. How many of the above statements is/are correct? (a) Only one (b) Only two (c) All three (d) None (Source: Ahmedabad declared cleanest city in India in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 as Indore moves to 'super league', Top cleanest cities in India: Indore featured for the 7th time — see the full list, Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for June 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at Khushboo Kumari is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She has done her graduation and post-graduation in History from the University of Delhi. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. She holds experience in UPSC-related content development. You can contact her via email: ... Read More
The Guardian
6 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück by Lynne Olson review – surviving an all-female concentration camp
Shortly after her release from Ravensbrück in 1945, Comtesse Germaine de Renty attended a dinner party in Paris with old friends. One guest complimented her on how well she was looking, concluding that 'life in Ravensbrück was not nearly as terrible as we've been told'. De Renty stared at the woman for a moment, before explaining icily that a typical day in the camp began by stepping over the corpses of friends who had died in the night. They would probably have no eyes, she added, since the rats had already eaten them. And with that, the comtesse stood up and swept out. Ravensbrück always had a credibility issue, explains Lynne Olson in this consistently thoughtful book. The camp, although only 50 miles north of Berlin, had been liberated late, which gave the SS plenty of time to burn incriminating records. There was limited visual evidence, too, since no cameramen accompanied the Soviet army when it knocked down the gates on 30 April 1945. While images from Auschwitz and Dachau of starving prisoners and rotting corpses were flashed before a horrified world, Ravensbrück left little trace in the moral imagination. The camp – which, unusually, was single sex – is better known now, thanks in part to Sarah Helm's outstanding 2015 book If This Is a Woman. Helm not only drew on new documentary evidence that became available with the fall of the iron curtain, but also interviewed many of Ravensbrück's elderly survivors. Olson, by contrast, focuses on just one small subgroup, the handful of French resistance members who arrived from 1942 onwards. She follows them from arrest, deportation and internment right through to the distinctive and coordinated way that they lobbied for recognition and reparations after the war. Ravensbrück had been built to house 3,000 women, but at its peak held more than 45,000 Jews, Roma, and other groups considered enemies by the Third Reich. There was one latrine per 200 prisoners. Medical intervention was more likely to kill than save and minor ailments quickly escalated into matters of life and death. One woman with a tooth abscess died of septicaemia within a few days. Over a period of six years, around 40,000 women lost their lives through starvation, disease, torture, medical experiments and, from December 1944, a gas chamber that the SS hurriedly installed, having underestimated how long it would take to work everyone to death at the nearby Siemens factory. Even before they arrived at Ravensbrück, the résistantes had been designated by the Germans as falling under the Nacht und Nebel [night and fog] decree, political prisoners targeted for disappearance. Olson shows how the Frenchwomen turned this vaporous status to their advantage, flitting from block to block under cover of darkness to deliver medicine, tapping out messages along pipes and orchestrating strikes in munitions factories. They specialised, too, in a certain Gallic insouciance, delighting in subverting the heavy-footed Germans without letting on exactly how it had been done. But they knew too that their indeterminate status would make it doubly difficult to explain to the postwar world what they had been through. To be believed, they needed to find a way of documenting their experience. Step forward Germaine Tillion, an ethnologist who had completed years of PhD study on the Berbers of Algeria before having her notes confiscated when she was arrested at the Gare de Lyon in 1942. Deported to Ravensbrück, Tillion embarked on an anthropological study of camp life. She noted the names of guards, dates of transports and details of gas chamber 'selections', carefully disguising her data as recipes for dishes she might cook in happier times. Dispersing her notes among trusted friends, Tillion reassembled her material after the war, publishing her seminal work, Ravensbrück, in 1946 and adding to it as she unearthed new sources. The final updated version appeared in 1988. Tellingly, Tillion could not find a French publisher for her book – it came out under a Swiss imprint – due to that country's reluctance to confront its own war record and high levels of collaboration. In the face of this wilful amnesia, the women of Ravensbrück founded the National Association of Former Female Deportees and Internees of the Resistance (ADIR) through which they lobbied for housing, healthcare and employment for survivors. It is this phase that gives Olson's account of the 'Ravensbrück Sisterhood' its satisfying final act. The ADIR's biggest task was to ensure that the thousands of SS officials, guards and others who had worked at Ravensbrück were brought to justice: of the 38 men and women put on trial, 19 were executed, with the rest given either prison sentences or acquitted. As ever, lack of documentary evidence was the sticking point: oral testimony, though compelling, could easily be dismissed by defence barristers as 'hearsay'. Furious at what they considered a gross miscarriage of justice, the résistantes continued to push for prosecutions despite a diminishing appetite in the culture at large. In 1950, Ravensbrück's former commandant Fritz Suhren was finally arrested while working as a waiter in a Berlin beer cellar. This time, Tillion's contemporaneous notes were allowed to be read at trial, and she was able to show that the wretched Suhren, who claimed to have had nothing to do with the gassing of inmates, had indeed signed an order for the execution of 500 women on 6 April 1945. On 12 June 1950 he faced a firing squad. The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück: How an Intrepid Band of Frenchwomen Resisted the Nazis in Hitler's All-Female Concentration Camp by Lynne Olson is published by Scribe (£22). To support the Guardian, order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
How a cello carried Anita Lasker-Wallfisch through Auschwitz
Anita Lasker-Wallfisch has spent an entire century on this earth, and does not fear death. After all, she'd often looked it in the eye when she was deported to Auschwitz simply for being a Jew. It was the largest and most notorious of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. There, around 1.1 million people were killed on an industrial scale, reports DW. Lasker-Wallfisch survived because she could play the cello. For decades, she has raised her voice against antisemitism, right-wing extremism and racism as a dedicated witness to history. She has told scores of schoolchildren unsparingly how the Nazis systematically marginalised Jews and ultimately murdered them. She feels it is a duty "that those who survived must serve as voices for the millions who were silenced." That's why she has also taken part in the Dimensions in Testimony project, in which interactive holograms enable Holocaust survivors to answer questions even after their deaths. Lasker-Wallfisch and her sister, Renate, had to work as forced laborers at a paper factory. She used this opportunity to forge documents for other forced laborers from France, enabling them to return to their homeland. In 1943, when the two sisters tried to flee with forged passports, they were imprisoned. Five months later, they arrived separately at Auschwitz. Because Lasker-Wallfisch could play an instrument, she was assigned to the girls' orchestra at Auschwitz. "The cello saved my life," she later said. When the forced labourers left the camp in the morning and returned in the evening, the orchestra played music for them to march to. On Sundays, the girls performed for the SS. "Not a single one of us believed we'd make it out of Auschwitz in any other way than up the chimney," were her words. In 1944, when Soviet troops were advancing on Auschwitz, Lasker-Wallfisch and her sister were moved to the extremely overcrowded concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, where people died of hunger, thirst and disease. "Auschwitz was a camp that systematically murdered people," she later wrote in her memoirs, "in Belsen, you just died." A long silence In September 1945, she testified against the Lasker-Wallfisch at Bergen-Belsen before a British military court. It would be a long time until Lasker felt able once again to speak of her experience. She emigrated to Britain in 1946. In London, she became a founding member of the English Chamber Orchestra and played in this ensemble until the turn of the century. She married pianist Peter Wallfisch, who, like her, was from Breslau. He had emigrated to Palestine as part of he Kindertransport (German for "children's transport") — an organised rescue effort of mainly Jewish children from Nazi-controlled territory. The couple did not speak to their children about the past. When her daughter, Maya, asked her mother why she had a phone number tattooed on her arm, she responded "I'll tell you when you're older." After many decades, Lasker-Wallfisch was ready to tell her story. Her book Inherit the Truth 1939-1945: The Documented Experiences of a Survivor of Auschwitz and Belsen was published in 1996. It made her internationally known as a witness to history. In 2018, on the German Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism, Lasker-Wallfisch gave a fiery speech in the country's parliament, the Bundestag, admonishing people not to forget. She said she perceived an increasing societal sentiment to leave such things in the past. Lasker-Wallfisch continued, "What are we meant to draw the line under? What happened, happened, and it cannot be expunged by drawing a line." Now Lasker-Wallfisch is turning 100. A concert is being held in her honour in London. Dignitaries from all over the world are coming to congratulate one of the last living witnesses of the Holocaust. Her daughter Maya, son Raphael, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will also toast her. But what's important to the centenarian isn't the extravagant celebration. What Lasker-Wallfisch desires above all is that the poison of hate and antisemitism be eradicated once and for all. A wish that is, unfortunately, not so easy to fulfill.
