W Bro Ian Schlazer talks to Arena

Bro Freddie was initiated into the Lodge of Guiding Light No 7539 in 1960 and has served the Lodge and Freemasonry faithfully and assiduously throughout the intervening years. As well as his Freemasonry, Bro Freddie has served the Holocaust Education Trust, a national charity that educates young people from every background about the holocaust and its contemporary relevance. This year the Queen recognised Bro Freddie’s long service to Holocaust education and awareness by awarding him the British Empire Medal in her New Year’s honours.

Undeterred by the constraints of the pandemic, Bro Freddie continued his Holocaust education work using Zoom instead of meeting participants face to face – meaning there has been no break in the number of young people learning about the events.

Bro Freddie was born into a Jewish family in Vienna. He remembers the looting of Jewish shops and systematic attacks on Jewish people. Fortunately, he managed to escape to England, but it can be forgotten that, as an Austrian Jew, he wasn’t welcomed with entirely open arms, so a difficult few years followed.

Bro Freddie has flourished despite the adversity in his life and, as the brethren of the Lodge have experienced over the past 62 years, has been a guiding light for all that is good in the world. The Lodge members celebrate having him in their midst.

This article is part of the Arena Magazine, Issue 48 April 2022 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in the Arena Issue 48 here.