192:. The campaign group were approached by a firm of class-action lawyers who held that they could obtain damages in the US courts against the companies who were complicit with the Nazi policy. The lawsuit saw only partial success for the plaintiffs; the companies agreed to pay a maximum of £5,000 to each survivor for their sufferings in the concentration camps as "a goodwill gesture" without any legal responsibility to do so. Some of the American lawyers who originally promised to act free of charge, accepted millions of dollars for themselves. Kennedy was dissatisfied with the deal and continued campaigning, speaking at public meetings and protesting at IG Farben shareholder meetings until he started suffering from
111:
factory where he quickly identified a fault with an electrical system and was kept on to work indoors working for
Siemens. Two months later, Rudy's father was killed by the SS when he collapsed due to exhaustion and was deemed "unfit for work", sent to the camp hospital and given a phenol injection.
90:
and physical attacks from other boys when he went to school, as he was the only Jewish boy in class. After fighting back against boys from the school who had attacked him, Kennedy's father then enrolled him to an all-Jewish school in
Breslau. Rudy's whole family, which consisted of his father Ewald,
127:
where he was deprived of food and survived only by eating grass. Though the
British liberated the camp, they didn't know what to do with the thousands of diseased prisoners, but they didn't want them to go out and mix with the general population. Rudy escaped from the camp with 5 other inmates and
102:
in 1943. At his father's direction, he lied about his age at the concentration camp—claiming to be 18 years of age although he was just 15. His sister and mother were immediately sent to a gas chamber and killed, while Rudy and his father were employed for work. Rudy's father was sent to
171:
and led the campaign in the 1990s that put pressure on German companies that had co-operated with the Nazi's "Extermination through labor" program to admit responsibility and pay reparations to those who had been forced to work as slave laborers. A BBC
207:
which provided individual humanitarian payments to former forced labourers and other victims of
National Socialism. From 2001 to 2007 a total of € 4.4 billion was paid out to more than 1.66 million people in almost 100 countries.
123:
to work in a missile factory where he joined a group of prisoners who tried to hinder the production by urinating or throwing sand into the rocket guidance systems. In April 1945 he was sent to
221:
155:, a £200 million company. Rudy set up his own company, named Digital Electronics in the 1970s. After selling Digital Electronics, he worked as a board member of
152:
107:
rubber factory, while Rudy was put to work on building roads (where the life expectancy was 6 weeks at most). Rudy's father managed to get him a job in the
431:
436:
339:
406:
204:
251:
426:
411:
365:
180:
followed the progress of the campaign. Among the companies accused of complicit with the Nazi policy and targeted by the campaign were
91:
mother Adele and a younger sister Käthe, moved to
Breslau in 1939. By 1941, Kennedy started working as an electrician with his father.
50:. After liberation, he worked as a rocket scientist and led the campaign for compensation for the survivors of the German policy of "
276:
147:
as a rocket scientist. He left the company to participate in a joint venture in rocketry and medical engineering with
416:
124:
47:
173:
335:
112:
Rudy endured cruel beatings at work and realized that he too would be killed if his work wasn't good enough.
99:
51:
401:
313:
303:
247:
421:
35:
193:
361:
156:
135:
He married Gitti and had two surviving children (Katie and Steve) at the time of his death.
396:
391:
143:
Rudy emigrated to the United
Kingdom in 1946. He attended college and started working for
8:
280:
27:
144:
120:
43:
217:
385:
189:
95:
87:
83:
148:
119:
approached, the SS evacuated the camp in
January 1945. Rudy was sent to
185:
75:
26:
October 24, 1927 – November 10, 2008) was a
British rocket scientist,
308:
200:
181:
108:
104:
39:
304:"Lives remembered: Rudy Kennedy, Joan Turner and Sir Charles Gordon"
129:
116:
138:
71:
67:
79:
63:
31:
248:"Rudy Kennedy: Holocaust survivor, scientist and campaigner"
169:
62:
Kennedy was born on
October 24, 1927, in Rosenberg (now
34:
causes. He spent a substantial period of his youth in
362:"Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future"
205:Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future
383:
16:British rocket scientist and Holocaust survivor
139:Post-World War II career as a rocket scientist
279:. Imperial War Museum, London. Archived from
94:Rudy's family was forcibly relocated by the
432:Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp survivors
437:Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors
407:People from the Province of Upper Silesia
250:. London: Times Online. March 3, 2009.
427:Auschwitz concentration camp survivors
412:German emigrants to the United Kingdom
384:
316:from the original on 23 November 2020
301:
271:
269:
295:
242:
240:
238:
236:
151:and Peter Epstein, giving birth to
13:
328:
266:
14:
448:
342:from the original on 6 April 2009
233:
211:
254:from the original on 24 May 2010
82:). He was six years of age when
368:from the original on 2020-09-23
354:
1:
227:
57:
302:Cowan, Rex (March 8, 2009).
100:Auschwitz concentration camp
86:was elected and had to face
52:extermination through labour
7:
203:passed a law to create the
162:
10:
453:
417:20th-century German Jews
336:"I WAS A SLAVE LABOURER"
66:, Poland), a place near
36:Nazi concentration camps
128:they made their way to
178:I Was a Slave Labourer
30:, and a protester for
157:Roche Pharmaceuticals
153:Huntleigh Electronics
222:USC Shoah foundation
218:Kennedy's testimony
199:In August 2000 the
402:People from Olesno
338:. BBC Storyville.
28:Holocaust survivor
422:Rocket scientists
201:German Parliament
444:
377:
376:
374:
373:
358:
352:
351:
349:
347:
332:
326:
325:
323:
321:
299:
293:
292:
290:
288:
273:
264:
263:
261:
259:
244:
145:English Electric
452:
451:
447:
446:
445:
443:
442:
441:
382:
381:
380:
371:
369:
360:
359:
355:
345:
343:
334:
333:
329:
319:
317:
300:
296:
286:
284:
275:
274:
267:
257:
255:
246:
245:
234:
230:
214:
165:
141:
60:
24:Rudi Karmeinsky
17:
12:
11:
5:
450:
440:
439:
434:
429:
424:
419:
414:
409:
404:
399:
394:
379:
378:
353:
327:
294:
283:on May 5, 2013
277:"Rudy Kennedy"
265:
231:
229:
226:
225:
224:
213:
212:External links
210:
164:
161:
140:
137:
121:Mittelbau-Dora
115:As the Soviet
59:
56:
44:Mittelbau-Dora
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
449:
438:
435:
433:
430:
428:
425:
423:
420:
418:
415:
413:
410:
408:
405:
403:
400:
398:
395:
393:
390:
389:
387:
367:
363:
357:
341:
337:
331:
315:
311:
310:
305:
298:
282:
278:
272:
270:
253:
249:
243:
241:
239:
237:
232:
223:
219:
216:
215:
209:
206:
202:
197:
195:
191:
190:Mercedes-Benz
187:
183:
179:
176:documentary,
175:
170:
167:Rudy founded
160:
158:
154:
150:
146:
136:
133:
131:
126:
125:Bergen-Belsen
122:
118:
113:
110:
106:
101:
97:
96:Schutzstaffel
92:
89:
85:
81:
77:
73:
69:
65:
55:
53:
49:
48:Bergen-Belsen
45:
41:
37:
33:
29:
25:
21:
370:. Retrieved
356:
344:. Retrieved
330:
318:. Retrieved
307:
297:
285:. Retrieved
281:the original
256:. Retrieved
198:
177:
168:
166:
142:
134:
114:
93:
88:antisemitism
61:
23:
20:Rudy Kennedy
19:
18:
397:2008 deaths
392:1927 births
346:29 November
320:22 December
287:29 November
258:29 November
194:Alzheimer's
149:Rolf Schild
386:Categories
372:2020-11-23
312:. London.
228:References
186:Volkswagen
174:Storyville
58:Early life
309:The Times
182:IG Farben
109:IG Farben
105:IG Farben
40:Auschwitz
366:Archived
340:Archived
314:Archived
252:Archived
163:Campaign
130:Hannover
117:Red Army
98:(SS) to
76:Wrocław
72:Germany
68:Breslau
84:Hitler
80:Poland
64:Olesno
46:, and
32:Jewish
22:(born
74:(now
348:2009
322:2009
289:2009
260:2009
220:for
188:and
54:".
38:of
388::
364:.
306:.
268:^
235:^
196:.
184:,
159:.
132:.
78:,
70:,
42:,
375:.
350:.
324:.
291:.
262:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.