Michael Degen was a German-Israeli actor. He died at the age of 90 in Hamburg on Saturday.

He worked in theatre as an actor and a director. He survived the Holocaust as a child.

President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch reacted to his death, saying, “I am very sad. With Michael Degen we are losing a great actor, a fine person and finally another important contemporary witness of the Nazi era.”

His accounts and books are the biggest autobiographical treasure for Germany.

He was a versatile actor who equally shared theatre and big screen. According to people, they have lost an outstanding artist, as he was an impressive man.

His death is a great loss to them.

“Despite the suffering that the Nazis did to his family, the German-Israeli actor has found a permanent home here. Also thanks to the love of the German language. Hamburg mourns the loss of a strong character,” states SPD on Twitter.

He contributed in abundant plays and movies in Germany and Austria. He also acted in crime series “Derrick.”

He performed for various roles like, Hamlet, Hitler, or a survivor of Holocaust.

The actor was a guest in radio and audio-book studios. His voice can still be heard in books, like “Venice.”

He strived to survive in his childhood, “I was a child. My father had been dead for two years, died in a concentration camp – so my mother and I were left alone,” he recalled in a television show.

“Somehow we made it. We had friends and acquaintances who put us up in arbors. We had little to eat, we froze in the winter, but we lived.” A book, Not All Were Murderers, stated facts regarding him.