Surviving in Hungary

Robert Czibi is a Roma artist who migrated from Hungary to London in 2010 and contributed to the capital’s art scene since his arrival. He started painting in the early 90’s while studying and working at the Open Studio Art Foundation of Varosliget in Budapest. In 2004, following Hungary’s EU accession, he traveled to Greece and Cyprus and worked in Athens and Crete. He returned to Central Europe for his first solo exhibition in the Goethe Institute in Budapest.

In the following years he participated in various art projects and workshops also he was influenced by a Roma art group, where he started to focus on issues of ethnicity, identity and values of Roma culture.

Today his heritage has an impact on his work, reflecting on different aspects of the Roma narrative including the Roma genocide. Alongside watercolour, chalk and acrylic his current interest include image transfer and collage techniques. His works have been exhibited at the UCL Festival of Culture in London, at New York University, as well as at Kai Dikhas Gallery in Berlin.

Tim Cole is Professor of Social History at the University of Bristol and is also Academic Advisor to the Dan David Prize. His research ranges over the social, cultural, environmental and landscape history of Europe with a particular interest in the Holocaust. His most recent books are About Britain (2021) and Holocaust Landscapes (2016). 

Dr. Agnes Kaposi, MBE, FREng, is a Hungarian-born British engineer, educator, and author known for her autobiography "Yellow Star - Red Star," chronicling her survival of the Holocaust and subsequent escape to Britain.

Born in 1932 to Hungarian-Jewish and socialist parents, she endured the horrors of the war, including time in ghettos and labour camps, before pursuing engineering studies at the Technical University of Budapest. Following her escape to England during the 1956 Uprising, she became a pioneering figure in telecommunications and computer engineering, earning a PhD in Computer Aided Design and becoming the third woman elected as Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Kaposi is a staunch advocate for social justice, anti-prejudice, and equality, actively involved in various Jewish and human rights organisations and celebrated for her inspiring talks and seminars on resilience and positive change.

Avital Menahem studied English Literature at Queen Mary, University of London and is an English teacher at Beth Jacob Grammar School. 

Her grandfather, Yisrael Abelesz, survived Auschwitz Birkenau and was liberated at age 14 by the Russian forces. Avital is honoured to share his story of survival, hope and rebuilding and is immensely proud of his positive attitude and appreciation for life. These are values she hopes to pass onto her own growing family. By telling his story, she believes she is continuing his legacy and not only educating but encouraging meaningful discussion about how to best relate to others to create a kinder, respectful, and forgiving world.

Anita Peleg is Chair of Trustees and Director of Generation 2 Generation (G2G) and formerly a Trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.  She is the daughter of sculptor and Auschwitz survivor, Naomi Blake and as a speaker for G2G tells Naomi's story of deportation from Hungary to Auschwitz where she lost many family members. Formerly a university lecturer specialising in Business Ethics, she is dedicated to educate about the Holocaust and to promote her mother's message advocating understanding between faiths.