Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich tells Starmer’s top team ‘Remembering the past is no longer enough’

Survivor Mala Tribich addressed a meeting of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet ministers in Downing Street to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), warning the Labour government that in the midst of rising antisemitism, “remembering the past is no longer enough.”

Jewish News was invited into the meeting as Starmer introduced 95-year-old Tribich to his top team as they gathered for the weekly meeting at No.10.

Tribich was given a standing ovation as she walked into the room, and again at the end of a speech that left several members of the cabinet, including chancellor Rachel Reeves, chief whip Jonathan Reynolds, deputy PM David Lammy and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy visibly moved as they listened on.

It is the first time a Holocaust survivor has personally addressed a cabinet meeting in this country.

The PM is understood to have personally committed to ensuring his cabinet was offered the chance to hear Tribich’s testimony on HMD in an event coordinated with the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) charity.

Starmer had earlier told Jewish News:” As Prime Minister, I am committed to strengthening Holocaust education across the country and delivering the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre near Parliament so this truth is never forgotten.”

Noting that she was amongst the last survivors still alive, Tribich said:”I stand before you as one of the last remaining eyewitnesses to one of the darkest chapters in human history.

“Eighty-one years after the liberation of the Nazi death and concentration camps, I am here as a representative of the British Holocaust survivor community.

“For decades, we have spoken to people across this country, sharing our most painful memories.

“We have done this out of a deep sense of duty – to ensure that what happened to our families and six million Jewish men, women and children is never forgotten.

“Soon, there will be no eyewitnesses left.  That is why I ask you today not just to listen, but to become my witness.”

Cabinet ministers including Heidi Alexander, and Attorney General Lord Hermer, along with Energy Minister Ed Milliband and Health Secretary Wes Streeting all appeared emotional as they listened intently to her words.

But in recognition of the fact that the poison of antisemitism is dramatically on the rise, here, and across the globe, she added:”Having endured the Holocaust, we survivors never imagined we would witness antisemitism at the levels we see today.

“What we have seen in Manchester on Yom Kippur, and in Sydney on Chanukah, has shaken me to my core. How, 81 years after the Holocaust, can Jewish people once again be targeted in this way?

“Remembering the past is no longer enough.”

Urging further commitment from the government, Tribich added: “I speak to you, leaders of the country I proudly call home, and I plead that you do what needs to be done to tackle this hatred.

“When I was in Bergen-Belsen, I still had hope. Because without hope, you cannot survive.

“Today, I have hope. I have hope in the next generation, the thousands of young people who have heard my testimony. ”

Starmer had first introduced her to his top team saying: “It is a very special privilege for us as the Cabinet because you are the first Holocaust survivor ever to address the Cabinet in this country.

“And so it really is quite an incredible occasion.

“And I know you’ve shared your story over many decades with thousands and thousands of people.

“And all of us, myself included, are humbled by your courage and inspired by your story.

“And I think it’s really important that we all are loud and clear that we hear and have heard and we act on yours and all the stories and experiences of Holocaust survivors.

“It is our duty not just to hear and listen but also to act and to absolutely deal with anybody who tries to deny or distort what happened in the Holocaust.”

At one point, Tribich also paid tribute to her late brother Ben Helfgott, who died in 2023, and who she said she “missed a lot.”

“One of Ben’s greatest wishes was to see a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre built beside Parliament – a permanent place where survivor testimony would be preserved, and where future generations could understand where antisemitism and hatred could lead if left unchallenged,” she said. “He did not live to see the Memorial, but he would have been proud to know that Parliament has now passed the Holocaust Memorial Bill and that work will soon begin.”

Starmer had earlier told Jewish News: “The Holocaust stands as one of the darkest stains on humanity: the systematic murder of six million Jews, each one an individual life extinguished by a hatred that sought to erase an entire people.

“As we mark Holocaust Memorial Day, we confront that truth directly – because remembrance is the first defence against denial, distortion and prejudice.

“With each passing year comes fewer precious chances to hear eyewitness testimonies in person. That is why this year’s theme, “bridging generations,” speaks directly to the responsibility we all share.

“This day is not only about looking back. It is also a call to action – to challenge hatred wherever it appears, to defend our common humanity, and to ensure “never again” is a promise we uphold, not just a phrase we repeat.”

Born Mala Helfgott in 1930 in Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland, when the Nazis invaded in 1939, her family  had fled eastwards, and on their return had to move into the ghetto.

Her voice cracking with emotion, Tribich told the cabinet meeting:” Like so many families, mine was torn apart piece by piece. My mother and my eight-year-old sister Lucia were taken away in December 1942.

“What happened to them is indescribable. They were murdered in the most horrific way – shot into open pits in the Rakov forest.

“My father and brother were deported to Buchenwald. I was sent with my five-year-old cousin Ann, first to Ravensbrück and then to Bergen-Belsen. I later learnt that my father was murdered while trying to escape a death march, just days before liberation.

“In the camps, we were stripped naked, shaved, put through freezing cold showers and given the prisoner garb. When we looked at each other, we could barely recognise who we were. We were stripped not only of our freedom, but of our identities, our dignity, our humanity. It was as if they had taken away our very souls.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, senior ministers, including the chancellor, signed HET’s Book of Commitment, pledging to honour those who were murdered by the Nazis and commit to fighting antisemitism today.

Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:“Mala Tribich survived the Holocaust and was liberated almost 81 years ago.

“She is one of a dwindling number of Holocaust survivors who are still able to share their most painful memories with the world. Mala, and survivors like her, share their stories in the hope that the next generation will always know what happened during the darkest days in our shared memory, acting as a memorial to the sixmillion Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis.

“As the Holocaust passes from living memory into history, today’s meeting with the Prime Minister and Cabinet is a poignant reminder of the responsibility to confront anti-Jewish hatred and ensure that the legacies of Holocaust survivors endure.”