Psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor Siegi Hirsch was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the Crown on Saturday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The title was presented to him at an intimate ceremony at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib. It is one of Belgium's highest honours, and is presented for "meritorious service" to the Belgian State.
Siegi Hirsch is a German Jew who fled to Belgium with his family before Kristallnacht. He was deported at the age of 17.
Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib and Siegi Hirsch pictured during a ceremony to award the 'Commander in the Order of the Crown' medal to Siegi Hirsch, Holocaust survivor and European pioneer in systemic family therapy, Saturday 27 January 2024, in Brussels. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
After returning from the concentration camps, he helped organise homes for orphaned Jewish children after the war.
Hirsch dedicated his life to young people in difficulty, and became a leader in his profession as a European pioneer of systemic family therapy.
Over the course of his career, he has trained many psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists and judges.
Siegi Hirsch. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
"After the horror and suffering of the concentration camps, Siegi Hirsch turned to life and chose to help others. For this, he deserves all our respect. A great humanist and free thinker, he owes his influence to his unconditional faith in human beings," stressed Foreign Minister Lahbib.
It is "the duty of us all to keep alive the vital work of remembrance" of the Holocaust and the six million Jews murdered during the Second World War, the foreign minister concluded.
