OPINION – Amber Rudd: Speaking to survivors is so inspiring and humbling
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

OPINION – Amber Rudd: Speaking to survivors is so inspiring and humbling

Britain's Home Secretary reflects on the privilege of hearing testimony from victims of the Shoah ahead Holocaust Memorial Day 2018

Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP signing HET Book of Commitment
Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP signing HET Book of Commitment

This week I had the privilege of meeting survivors of genocide. They included Hannah Lewis, a survivor of the Holocaust, one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century and a stark example of what can happen when nations fail to uphold essential values of tolerance, respect and the right of every individual to express their faith and identity.

It was truly humbling to be able to speak alongside people who have gone through such unimaginable suffering and horror.

I count myself very privileged to have heard their stories and reflected on how we can all apply the lessons from that dark time.

I was honoured to meet Hannah Lewis, who was just five years old when the Germans began rounding up the Jews of her town Włodawa to either the nearby Sobibór extermination camp or labour camps.

She and her family were sent to a work camp in 1943, where her mother was murdered. Hannah was saved after being found starving and hiding in a trench.

When she was 12, Hannah reached London. From the utter despair that she had to suffer at the hands of the Nazis, she has gone on to create a life and a loving family who support her.

Hannah has gone on to tell her story so that we will never forget what happened to her, her family and the six million Jews who were murdered.

Tragically, the Holocaust was not the last genocide. Awful crimes against humanity have been committed in Rwanda, Cambodia, Darfur and elsewhere.

It is incumbent upon all of us to remember and learn from these terrible events.

I’m pleased that there will be a permanent Holocaust memorial close to Parliament, to remind us that the process of learning from the past to build a peaceful future is ongoing, and we must not forget the depths of depravity to which humanity can sink if hatred and extremism is left unchecked.

I’m proud to live in and represent a diverse, open British society that recognises the need for harmonious community relations and the decent treatment of others. However, one of the most crucial lessons to learn from the Holocaust is that we must never be complacent.

The President of Genocide Watch, Gregory Stanton, has said the first stage of genocide is categorising people as ‘other’ – and this was certainly true in Nazi Germany.

We must never accept the negative treatment of any group of people as a result of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, transgender identity or any other such intrinsic characteristic.

In Britain we value highly the contribution of our Jewish community to the cultural, social, educational and religious life of the country and are determined to protect that community from those that would do it harm.

We work closely with the Community Security Trust – providing them with £13.4million for security measures in addition to the extensive and on-going work of the police – to make sure you can go about your daily lives without fear of threat.

We treat every incident of hate crime as one too many, and have strong laws in place to tackle these deplorable incidents.

It is incredibly important to me that Britain is a place that all of our citizens can call home.

Survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides are remarkable and it is an absolute inspiration to listen to them.

I encourage everyone this Holocaust Memorial Day to take the time to hear their stories.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: