Welcome to Unmissable – our weekly digest of stories we think you might have missed.
Holocaust survivor Ike Alterman.(Image: ABNM Photography)
Ike Alterman was just 13-years-old when he watched his mother, sister and little brother being marched away by Nazis at gunpoint. He never saw them again.
The family were lined up in Ostrowiec town square alongside other Jews. His father told him to stand on tip-toe, to make himself taller, as an SS officer counted the crowds.
He stopped suddenly at Ike’s mother and she was marched away with his 15-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother. “They were marched out of that square followed by people with rifles. Can you imagine a little boy like that?” he said. “That’s the last we ever saw of them. Rumour had it that they were sent to Treblinka which was an extermination camp.”
Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of stories we think you might have missed.
Ike Alterman, who died last week aged 97, was the last camp survivor still living in Manchester. In the final years of his life he dedicated himself to Holocaust remembrance, retelling the painful stories of his horrific experiences. In eulogising him last week, Raphi Bloom described Ike as “a father and a brother” to him. He said Ike had never stopped thinking about his mother, brother and sister and he firmly believes we will be reunited with them now.
Beth Abbit’s beautiful obituary of a remarkable and courageous man should be read by everyone.
Elsewhere, over the last few days we published this excellent article from Damon Wilkinson on how the ‘Godfather of death’ used his compo pay-out to become one of Manchester’s most feared gangsters.
Neal Keeling returned to the disturbing unsolved case of the murder of Lisa Hession and Dianne Bourne investigated what’s going on inside Kendals, now that the building’s future has been secured.
Coming up this week as part of our premium offering we’re planning to publish an investigation into another prominent Manchester YouTuber.
There will be an article about the rise and fall of a council estate kid turned top cop.
Plus we’ll be looking into what has (and hasn’t) changed five years on from the case of Britain’s most-prolific rapist Reynhard Sinaga.
Holocaust survivor Ike Alterman(Image: ABNM Photography)
Ike Alterman has died aged 97, leaving a devoted family and a huge legacy.
Julian Bell
A childhood motorbike accident left Longsight Crew founder Julian Bell paralysed from the waist down. But he used his wealth to wage a bloody gang war. Damon Wilkinson reports.
Lisa Hession wjo was murdered in Leigh on December 8th 1984. Her killer has never been identified.(Image: Manchester Evening Newws)
Ryan Daly-Aruoture was born six years after 14-year-old Lisa Hession was murdered in 1984. Yet for more than a decade, he has campaigned tirelessly to uncover the truth, leading vigils and running a social media group determined to see her killer brought to justice. Neal Keeling reports.
House of Fraser on Deansgate(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
Manchester’s beloved landmark is gearing up for transformation – yet step through its doors and you’ll find empty counters, broken escalators and a store seemingly frozen in time. Dianne Bourne reports.