Leeds United fan Heinz Skyte who fled Nazis dies

  • Published
Heinz Skyte
Image caption,

Heinz Skyte went to Elland Road for the first time in 1939

A man who fled Nazi Germany and became a lifelong fan of Leeds United has died aged 99.

News of Heinz Skyte's death was disclosed by the club he had supported devotedly for 80 years.

Mr Skyte fled Hamburg weeks after Jewish businesses and synagogues were ransacked on Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass", in November 1938.

Shortly after arriving in Leeds in February 1939, Mr Skyte and his brother went to watch Leeds play Everton.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Leeds United

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Leeds United

The club said it learned of his death "with deep sadness".

Mr Skyte was given a club shirt and scarf at Elland Road on Saturday 14 December at the match against Cardiff City.

The club's chairman, Andrea Radrizzani, presented Mr Skyte with the gifts in a pitchside ceremony before the game.

During the ceremony Mr Skyte said it was "cold but nostalgic" to be back at Elland Road.

His son, Peter, said: "I feel very proud that he is being honoured and the club have done him proud and hopefully he has done the club proud, too."

More stories from Yorkshire

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post 2 by Holocaust Exhibition & Learning Centre

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post 2 by Holocaust Exhibition & Learning Centre

The late Mr Skyte is one of 16 Holocaust survivors and refugees whose stories feature in an exhibition at the Holocaust Exhibition and Learning Centre, based at Huddersfield University.

Here is Mr Skyte's story , externalas recorded by the centre.

Image caption,

The exhibition at the Huddersfield centre has created several special films for display

Related internet links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.