Holocaust survivor’s message to Johnson projected onto White Cliffs of Dover
In emotional plea, Steven Frank asks the prime minister to allow Ukrainians seeking shelter to take refuge in the UK
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Holocaust survivor Steven Frank has made a heartfelt and direct plea to prime minister Boris Johnson to “show some humanity” by allowing Ukrainian refugees into Britain.
And in a powerful symbol, the 86-year-old made his plea from the White Cliffs of Dover, one of the traditional entry points into the UK.
From the White Cliffs of Dover, just 21 miles from where Ukrainian refugees have been turned away trying to get to their families in the UK, Holocaust survivor Steven Frank has this message for Boris Johnson.
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) March 11, 2022
To deliver his emotional seven-minute message, Frank teamed up with the British political campaigners Led By Donkeys, who transmitted his speech onto the clifftops in a gigantic image.
Frank spoke of his own Holocaust experience. He was five years old when the Nazis first occupied the Netherlands, and still only seven when he first went into the camps.
Leonard Frank, his father, was an eminent Amsterdam lawyer who spent the early years of the war providing fake papers for other Jews and also hiding Jews in his own home. All that ended in 1942 when he was betrayed “and I never saw him again”.
Recounting how his mother, a native English speaker, had written down from the radio the speech by Winston Churchill announcing the end of the war, Frank went on to recall how he, his mother and two brothers, finally managed to make their way to France and then the UK where they ended up at an RAF reception centre in Stanmore.
A policeman at the centre taught the boys their first English words, the days of the week and then gave each of them sixpence. He recalled that it was: “the first kind action to us by a policeman in uniform for five years”.
Frank, who regularly speaks about his Holocaust experience and holds the British Empire Medal for his work, told the prime minister that those Ukrainians whom he could allow into Britain would make an enormous contribution to the country and would be “eternally grateful for the hospitality and the safety” that Britain would offer.
He highlighted actions by people in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Germany in helping the Ukrainian refugees. And he said: “Don’t turn them away — that’s not humanity at all”.
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.
