Holocaust survivor Max Mannheimer dies, aged 96

Holocaust survivor and prolific anti-Semitism activist Max Mannheimer has died in a Munich hospital aged 96.  

"This is very sad news. The memorial site and its employees are mourning a good friend," Head of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Gabriele Hammermann, said today.

Mr Mannheimer, whose entire family died in the Holocaust, was known for his speeches at schools and universities about his experiences at the hands of the Nazis.

As a Jew, he was taken to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in then German-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1943, and later sent to Auschwitz and Dachau.

He was freed a week before the end of the war in 1945.

A spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid tribute to the “great reconciler” on social media.

"Chancellor Merkel is mourning Max Mannheimer, Holocaust survivor, reminder against oblivion and a great reconciler. We owe him thanks," the statement on Twitter said.