Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the “sheer and remarkable courage” of Holocaust survivors ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Prime Minister welcomed a group of survivors and their families to Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon, describing the meeting as “an incredible privilege”.
He said: “After surviving the most appalling and incomprehensible suffering at the hands of the Nazis, they have gone on to make the world a better place by dedicating their lives to Holocaust education.
“I pay tribute to their sheer and remarkable courage in sharing their stories, imparting memories of the worst moments of humanity – seeing family members, friends, neighbours murdered in the cruellest ways imaginable – to ensure we never forget.”
The reception comes ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, and follows the Prime Minister’s trip to Poland last week during which he visited Auschwitz, a former Nazi concentration camp, where he vowed to fight “the poison of antisemitism”.
On Wednesday, Sir Keir recommitted to ensuring Holocaust education remained on the national curriculum and “all schools must teach it”.
He added: “This is a time where we must all stand steadfast in our commitment that the Holocaust is never forgotten, stand up to all forms of hatred and division and ensure the six million Jewish lives that were abhorrently and cruelly taken are forever cherished.”
Earlier in the day, MPs heard the testimony of two Holocaust survivors, Yisrael Abelesz and Alfred Garwood, at a separate event in Parliament.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the first-hand stories of the two men, who survived the Holocaust but found their families had been murdered, was “a precious resource”.
He said; “We must do everything we can – now more than ever – to listen to and honour survivors who have devoted their lives to sharing their harrowing stories in the hope the lessons of the Holocaust are never forgotten.”
This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day marks 80 years since the end of the Holocaust in 1945.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, which supported Wednesday’s reception at Number 10, said it was “extremely powerful” to see the Prime Minister speaking to Holocaust survivors.
She said: “Eighty years on, the survivors here today would never have dreamed they would be talking to the Prime Minister of Great Britain over a cup of tea at 10 Downing Street. Their resilience and determination is extraordinary.
“The Prime Minister’s warmth and compassion for these precious eyewitnesses was deeply moving and we welcome the strength of his commitment to our cause.”
