Hanns Alexander

Born in Berlin to Alfred and Henny Alexander, 15 minutes before his twin, Paul. In 1933, following Hitler’s rise to power, Alexander and his family were forced to leave their home due to persecution. Alexander moved to London in 1936. After the Second World War ended and the true horror of the death camps was revealed, Alexander was deeply affected by the realisation that the Germans with whom he had grown up had committed such atrocities. He channelled his rage into finding Nazis to bring to trial. Using his native German, Alexander was able to translate and transcribe the affidavits of some of the key players in the execution of the Holocaust. He captured the Kommandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, whose confession and information regarding the implementation of the Final Solution led to a new understanding of what happened in the camps and also encouraged other Nazis to confess at various trials. In his later years Alexander became a merchant banker with S.G. Warburg in the City of London. He always remembered his Jewish roots and became active in the running of the Belsize Square Synagogue.