Not long ago, Walter Bingham celebrated his 100th birthday, but as he phrases it, he has entered his 101st year of life.
I first met Walter in Jerusalem when I was working at a radio station, where he was featured on its Aliyah Show. A long-time experienced broadcaster, he was subsequently offered his own show, Walter’s World. I was the sound engineer and frequently joined Walter for live broadcasts and to cover news events.
Walter quickly adapted to the new, ever-changing technology, and his hand-held digital recorder and microphone became his constant companions. We went backstage to interview performers at music festivals, and politicians at rallies.
With his outgoing personality and relaxed style, Walter was always able to get guests to open up.
Today, he records and edits two programs covering current events, as well as human interest stories: Walter’s World on Israel National Radio; and The Walter Bingham File on Israel News Talk Radio.
Despite his age, he often joins the international media to cover events at dangerous locations.
Walter also spends time commemorating the memory of the Holocaust through frequent speaking engagements. Last May, he spent a week in the Berlin area talking to schoolchildren about his youth in Germany and the rise of Nazism.
In October, he was hosted by the March of the Living organization, which promotes Holocaust education, for a special reenactment of the Kindertransport, which saved up to 10,000 children from the Nazis. He traveled with one of three other kinder from Israel to several locations in Germany, and then to Holland and England, reenacting their journey in 1939. That was how Walter survived the war; he was sent to England on the Kindertransport, where he grew up without his parents.
Throughout the journey, they were interviewed and filmed for a documentary, which captured touching moments.
When the ferry left the port of Hoek Van Holland, emotion welled up as Walter remembered waving goodbye to Europe and awaiting freedom in England, as he did 84 years ago.
I had the opportunity to interview Walter about the experience for my podcast, Jewish History Moment.
Germans then vs today
Walter explained that he had previously returned to Germany in 1988, but the attitudes were different. “I was invited by the municipality, who were very nice, but the population didn’t seem to care about us. Nobody smiled, nobody waved,” he said.
“This time it was different. We were approached by locals in Germany. You couldn’t miss us because we had two cameramen, a sound man, and lighting. The Germans were friendly, interested, and very happy to see us. The atmosphere was so much different.”
Walter’s trip to Germany coincided with the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, and he commented on how the president of Germany traveled to Israel in a display of support.
Walter explained that 1988 was too soon after World War II. “That generation were the children and grandchildren of those who voted for Hitler. They were still indoctrinated,” he said.
“It takes several generations to take the poison out of their system, although there is still an element of neo-Nazis in Germany.”
In February 2024, March of the Living hosted Walter to again speak in London for three major events. This month, he went to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial in Poland with March of the Living for Holocaust Remembrance Day, where he recited Kaddish at the end of the commemoration.
The Nazi dagger
When Walter speaks about his wartime experiences to groups, he has a visual presentation with pictures, photos, and charts that explain antisemitism and the Nazi era.
Among the items he passes around to the audience is an authentic Hitler Youth dagger with a swastika. The blade is inscribed with the words “Blood and honor” in German.
“For me it meant Jewish blood,” Walter explained, “because after school, I saw my fellow pupils marching in Hitler Youth uniforms singing ‘When Jewish blood spurts from the knife, everything goes much better.’”
British Army
After arriving in England with the Kindertransport, he spent several years on a religious kibbutz training camp in Wales.
Walter then went to London and joined the British Army. In June 1944, he landed on the beaches of Normandy. For his extraordinary action, he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field by King George VI. He also received France’s highest honor, the Légion d’honneur.
As a fluent German speaker, he was eventually transferred to London to train as a documents specialist and counter-intelligence operative. On VE Day (May 8, 1945), he was sent to Hamburg, where he was given an office in the former Nazi party headquarters of the greater Hamburg area.
Among the numerous interviews he conducted was one with Nazi foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, who denied all knowledge of the Holocaust, although he oversaw all anti-Jewish activities in Nazi-occupied Europe. He was the first of the senior Nazi leaders to be executed after the Nuremberg war crimes trials.
After the war, Walter made a life for himself in England. Following his BA, he obtained a post-graduate degree in political philosophy from the University of London. That helped him to take up a career in radio journalism.
Modeling career
To supplement his income, Walter grew a beard and was in demand as an actor and advertising model. He was Santa Claus at Herrods, England’s premier department store, and for several years in London’s Selfridges department store.
In documentaries, he played Charles Darwin, as well as other interesting parts. Advertisements with his photo could be seen in posters on London buses and underground stations.
I was even filmed with Walter. A Jerusalem-based musician was shooting a music video for Purim and asked for volunteers. When Walter and I showed up, they were especially glad to see him and promptly gave him the role of Mordechai.
Today Walter, who made aliyah in 2004 at age 80, has become a known name in Israel among the English-speaking community, journalists, and the many diplomats he has interviewed. President Isaac Herzog visited him on his birthday.
Among his many honors, he holds two Guinness World Records: as the oldest working journalist in the world, and the oldest active radio show host.
Plans for the future
As a pilot, Walter once flew his airplane solo from England to Israel. One of his most emotional moments was circling low over Jerusalem, with tears running down his cheeks. For his 95th birthday, he went skydiving and is planning another jump within the next several months.
His birthday cake this year bore the words “Until 180” instead of the usual wish “Until 120” because as Walter says, there is still much more work to be done.■
‘Kaddish’ in Birkenau
Walter Bingham participated in the 2024 commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Poland and recited mourners’ Kaddish in front of 7,000 participants.
The commemoration included 55 Holocaust survivors, several of whom were also survivors of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel. “It was very emotional,” Bingham told In Jerusalem.
The event, organized by March of the Living, begins at the Auschwitz concentration camp, with students and others marching to the ruins of the Birkenau camp. A series of speeches and prayers took place near where the Birkenau gas chambers were located.
Among the participants were Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, a survivor and former chief rabbi of Israel; popular Israeli singer Noa Kirel, who sang “Eli Eli”; and IDF Chief Cantor Shai Abramson, who recited the El Maleh Rachamim (Prayer of Mercy). Bingham noted that March of the Living had distributed blue jackets and Israeli flags to participants, giving the impression of a sea of blue as they marched.
Many of the participants pledged to pay homage to the survivors and made a commitment to transmit the history and lessons of the Holocaust to the next generation.