Remembering Betty Deutsch

The Fortunoff Video Archive is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Elizabeth (Betty) Egri Deutsch on February 2, 2026. She was 98 years old. A Holocaust survivor, Betty recorded her testimony with the Fortunoff Video Archive in 1989.

Born on August 23, 1927, in Bodrogkeresztúr, Hungary, Betty grew up in a close-knit Jewish community surrounded by family. As a teenager during the war, she survived Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, and Braunschweig before liberation in 1945.

Betty and her sister immigrated to the United States in 1950. She married, raised a family, and continued to practice Judaism with pride in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Throughout her life, Betty visited schools and organizations across the state, speaking with young people about the Holocaust and urging them to never forget.

The Fortunoff Video Archive is profoundly grateful to Betty for entrusting us with her testimony and for her lifelong commitment to remembrance and education. Our recently published teaching set, The Art of Listening: Practices from the Fortunoff Video Archive, features Betty’s reflections on her life before, during, and after the war. We are also deeply grateful to her family for their partnership and contributions to this work.

Betty is survived by her son, daughter, and granddaughters. We honor her memory and extend our deepest condolences to her family.