Jewish MI6 agent Kurt Erich Glauber honoured in Ipswich

Jem and Antony Japhet, the nephew and great niece of Dr Kurt Erich Glauber travelled to the town from central London for the unveiling of a headstone to their uncle in Ipswich Cemetery.

They were joined by Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman of the Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Synagogue, who led those gathered in prayer.

As The Last Post and the National Anthem were played on the bagpipes, the thoughts of those gathered turned to Dr Glauber, the man who ultimately gave his life to fight against oppression and prejudice.

Dr Kurt Erich Glauber was born in Vienna in 1902, the eldest of three children born to Fredrich Glauber and his wife, Ernestine. 

Kurt Erich Glauber was an Austrian solicitor turned MI6 spy. Image: Ipswich War Memorial Project (Image: Ipswich War Memorial Project)

Antony and Jem Japhet had travelled from London to commemorate their uncle and great uncle. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Antony and Jem Japhet unveiled the headstone to commemorate their uncle's legacy. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond)

He qualified as a lawyer at the University of Vienna, but was banned from practicing when German forces stormed the city in March 1938.

To escape persecution, Dr Glauber and his widowed mother escaped to England to join his married sister, Lucile. 

It is not known why Dr Glauber came to Ipswich, but in the 1939 register, taken just after the outbreak of war, he was lodging at 277 Norwich Road and working as a trainee at the Tower Mill Steam Laundry in Bramford Road. 

However, Dr Glauber was not content to remain in England whilst the Nazis continued their reign of terror in his native land.

He enlisted in the British Army in January 1940, initially joining the Royal Artillery, before volunteering to join MI6 to work as a secret agent.  

Dr Galuber was then smuggled back into Vienna on a secret mission.

For five months, he courageously passed information to the British. Dr Glauber and his fellow British agents trusted a woman who allowed them to use her flat on as a safe house.

This decision would cost them their lives. In early 1945, Dr Glauber and his fellow agents entered the flat – and came face to face with the Gestapo who were lying in wait.

In the spring of 1945, Dr Glauber was taken to Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was executed without trial.

Under Hitler’s ‘Commando Order’ of 1942, such murders were to be kept secret. Bodies had to be buried in unmarked graves, and the Allied commandos' fates were never to be revealed.

Dr Glauber’s nephew, Antony Japhet, said that it was only through the research carried out in Ipswich that he had discovered that his uncle died at Mauthausen.

He thanked the Ipswich War Memorial project for its efforts in properly commemorating his uncle’s legacy.

Kurt Glauber with family: his nephew, sits Antony on his shoulders; his mother Ernestine stands to the left and sister Lucile to the right. Image: Ipswich War Memorial Project (Image: Ipswich War Memorial Project)

Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman of the Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Synagogue led those gathered in prayer. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Rachel Field was thanked for her work in bringing Dr Glauber's incredible story to light. Image: Abygail Fossett (Image: Newsquest)Many dignitaries gathered in Ipswich to pay homage to Dr Glauber. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond)It is hoped that the people of Ipswich will help to ensure that Dr Glauber's legacy lives on. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond)

“I was six years old when my uncle was executed,” he said. “My one real memory of him is when he took me to London Zoo when I was five. My mother told me many years later that what happened that morning was that after we had gone round the entire zoo, I announced that I would like to go around again.

“So obviously, we went round again. As a result of which, we were very, very late home for lunch. My mother said she had been quite worried – I think she thought I had become something’s lunch at the zoo.”

In particular, Mr Japhet thanked Rachel Field, an independent researcher from Ipswich who had pieced together Dr Glauber’s movements in England.

“I was a volunteer researcher, doing some work for Suffolk Archives,” explained Mrs Field. “One afternoon, I thought, I can develop this further; I’ll look into all the Jewish refugees who came to Ipswich.”

When she came across Dr Glauber and began to piece together his incredible story, Mrs Field knew that she could not allow his legacy to go unrecognised.

She approached Andrew Beal of the Ipswich War Memorial project, who leaped into action.

Jem Japhet, who said she had grown up hearing stories of her war hero great-uncle, was approached online by the project, asking if she knew an Antony Japhet – and the rest is history.

Mrs Field was presented with a bunch of flowers by His Excellency, Bernhard Wrabetz, the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the UK. She was also awarded a medal by the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women for her efforts in honouring Dr Glauber’s memory.

Also present were Andrew Beal and Helen Ely of the Ipswich War Memorial project; members of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation; Ipswich mayor Lynne Mortimer; vicar of St Mary le Tower, Tom Mumford; and many other distinguished guests, including members of the Jewish community in Ipswich.