Holocaust survivor’s time capsule saved from wrecking ball

There were fears that a Holocaust survivor’s classic P&O style home would go to a developer but it’s sold for a big price to a family who want to preserve it.

The eastern suburbs house sold post-auction for well over the $6m price guide.

There were fears that a Holocaust survivor’s classic P&O style home would go to a developer but it’s sold for a big price to a family who want to preserve it.

When contacted, Biller Property principal Paul Biller and his colleague, Ben Torban, were tight-lipped but sources say the eastern suburbs house sold for way over the $6m guide post-auction.

One source said they’d heard about $6.2m.

There’d been some developer interest but it’s understood the home described as “an iconic P&O masterpiece” went to a local family who plan to renovate it internally and maintain it in the existing style.

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The home features highly sought-after inbuilt furniture in the bedrooms by Paul Kafka.

The kitchen was last renovated in 1969.

This will be a relief to 97-year-old Olga Horak, whose tale of survival from the nazis has been well-documented.

When she was 17 in 1944, she and her entire family were sent to Auschwitz and then to Bergen-Belsen. Olga was the sole survivor.

Ahead of the auction, Olga’s daughter, Susie Berk, said it was her mother’s wish that the new owner appreciates just how special the property is.

“My mother is so attached to it, and put so much love and care into maintaining it ... she would like to see it renovated or added to and made even more grand!” she said.

The property, which has stunning harbour views, was bought in 1952 for £10,500 by Olga and her late husband, John Horak.

Iconic views.

The original bathroom.

Daughter Susie Berk says her parents, who’d been living in a flat in Bondi, had been driving around the streets of the east looking at homes with a real estate agent.

“He was getting exasperated because they didn’t like anything, and he turned around and said: ‘Well, what sort of house do you want?’ ” Susie said.

“My father pointed to this house and said ‘One like that’, because even in those days, it stood out for its style, proudly and prominently on the corner.

“The next day, the agent knocked on the person’s door and they did the deal in five minutes!

“Over the years, we had lots of people knocking on her door to photograph it, buy it, or just to have a look at it.”

After their fortunate purchase — although, as Susie says, £10,500 was “a lot of money at the time and the house was in a very raw state” — her parents set out to make it their own.

“They did the manicured gardens and put in a lot of what is now highly sought-after inbuilt furniture in the bedrooms by [Paul] Kafka, a well-known cabinet maker at the time,” she says.

Originally published as Holocaust survivor’s time capsule saved from wrecking ball