Keir Starmer and wife Victoria have hosted a moving Downing Street reception for Holocaust survivors after the Prime Minister described a visit to Auschwitz as “one of the most harrowing experiences of my life.”
Speaking to Jewish News at No.10, Starmer said last Friday’s trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp site lefy him compelled to do his utmost to make sure “what happened in this unique and darkest of crimes must never be forgotten or diminished.”
The Downing Street tea took place just days ahead of next Monday’s official commemoration for Holocaust Memorial Day, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and at a time of rising antisemitism.
Wednesday’s event saw the group of survivors – including Auschwitz survivors Renee Salt, with son Martin, and Arek Hersh, with daughter Michelle, Mala Tribich , who survived Bergen-Belson with her son Jeffrey, and Harry Olmer, who survived five camps, with his daughter Julia – seated at three tables inside Number 10, as they were joined by the PM and his wife for often emotional conversations.
One table was reserved for those who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau, another for those who had survived Bergen-Belsen, while a third was reserved for the children of the Kindertransport and Windermere, who were transported to this country to escape Nazi tyranny.
Keir Starmer and Victoria chat with survivors at Downing St event
Starmer was presented with several books from those in attendance, including the soon to be published memoir by 95 year-old Salt, who arrived in Auschwitz aged 15, and a copy of Martin Gilbert’s The Boys, signed by 45 Aid Society members.
The Starmer’s had entered the plush room at Downing Street standing either side of the remarkable Auschwitz survivor Salt, helping her to her seat at the table.
Several guests, including survivor Mala Tribich openly praised the PM and his wife for their “abilty to listen” and for their “clear desire to pay respect and learn from the survivors here today.”
Both the PM and his wife chatted openly about their visit last Friday to the notorious site in Poland, and the pair looked visibly moved as they were shown the concentration camp number tattoos on the arms of some of those attending the event.
The PM later told Jewish News he was particularly moved after being shown a photograph of two survivors Gena and Norman Tugel , who eventually married after the end of the war.
“To go from a point in their lives were the future was so bleak, to one, after the camps were liberated, where they are able to spend their lives together is truly remarkable,” said Starmer.
Keir Starmer sat with Holocaust survivor Renee Salt during the event (Alberto Pizzoli/PA)
He added:”It was an incredible privilege to meet with extraordinary Holocaust survivors and the families of survivors in Downing Street as we mark this Holocaust Memorial Day.
“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.
“It was an honour to hear their testimonies and to learn of their experiences escaping these horrors as young children. We spoke of Sir Nicholas Winton’s lifesaving Kindertransport programme.
“I was honoured to meet with two of those who built a new life after the war in Windermere. Hearing these stories makes me both proud to be British and ever more determined to ensure our country protects and preserves their legacy.”
Organisers of Wednesday’s event said the PM had felt personally compelled to ensure the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Shoah is never forgotten after he was left feeling “wave after wave of revulsion” at the industrialised murder after visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau last Friday.
Karen Pollock CBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, who helped stage the event, also told Jewish News:”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.”
Starmer also told Jewish News:“My visit to Auschwitz last week was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. I felt wave after wave of revulsion at the sheer scale of this barbarous, planned, industrialised murder.
“One million Jews killed in Auschwitz. Six million in total. All for the same reason. Because they were Jewish.
“Amid this utter depravity, there was a particular image that continues to haunt me. It was a photograph of a German guard standing with Jewish prisoners – and smiling.
“As I looked across other photographs, I saw he wasn’t the only one. Other guards were adopting similar poses.
“These were not German soldiers reluctantly following orders or trying to hide away from the horrific nature of their crimes. They were standing there proudly, as if wanting to be seen.
“What I witnessed, both what was left behind by the innocents cruelly murdered at the hands of the Nazis, and the evidence of the absolute depravity of those who committed these horrific acts, are a stark reminder of why we must safeguard the legacy of the Holocaust survivors and why we must do everything in our power to ensure history will never be repeated.
“I’ll never forget how I felt at that moment. It illustrated to me, more powerfully than ever before, how the Holocaust was not simply the evil deeds of a few bad individuals forcing others to do unspeakable things.
“It was a collective endeavour by thousands of ordinary people who were consumed by the hatred of difference. Each playing their part in the dehumanisation and attempted destruction of an entire people.
“As we come together for Holocaust Memorial Day next week, there are many reasons why this commemoration matters – not just for our Jewish community but for the whole nation. “Keir Starmer visits Auschwitz admitting, ‘Nothing could have prepared me’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria, visit the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau
During the Downing Street reception, the PM signed HET’s Book of Commitment with its pledge to educate every person from every background in the UK about the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance.
Others to attend Wednesday’s reception were Michelle Richman, daughter of the late Zigi Shipman, Bernice and Josh Kennet, daughter and grandson of the late Gena Turgel, the Belsen liberator Mervyn Kersh, and his daughter Lynne and Lord Alf Dubs, along with Maurice Helfgott, son of the late Sir Ben Helgott, along with Lady Arza.
Also joining HET’s chief executive for the tea was the organisation’s chair Craig Leviton, along with Laura Marks and Olivia Marks-Woldman of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
“It matters that together we counter those who would despicably contest or excuse the facts of history,” added the PM.
“It matters because what happened in this unique and darkest of crimes must never be forgotten or diminished.
“It matters because we must recognise that the poison of antisemitism has been despicably rising again in the aftermath of October 7th. And that we must never allow Jewish people to be persecuted on British streets, schools, colleges and universities, just for that same reason of being Jewish.
“But it also matters because we need to tackle the root causes of this hatred. By teaching young people the lessons of the Holocaust – as well as the genocides that have followed – we can help them develop that crucial empathy for others, that appreciation of the common humanity of all people, which was so shockingly absent in that photograph in Auschwitz.
“That is the ultimate way to safeguard the legacy of Holocaust survivors.
“At this time of year, I am always moved by their breathtaking courage to relive their darkest moments so that we might learn and never forget. Our resolve this year, as always, must be to protect that courage for the future. To make sure that phrase ‘never again’ means what it says. Never again.”
Keir Starmer speaks to HET dinner
Defending the government’s record on Holocaust education, Starmer said:“That’s why I have committed to ensuring the Holocaust will always remain on the national curriculum, and that all schools must teach it.
“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.”
Last Tuesday, in a further sign of the government’s commitment to remembering the Holocaust, Chancellor Rachel Reeves staged a reception at Number 11 Downing Street to mark the forthcoming HMD.
Speakers included Reeves herself along with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack OBE and HET chair Craig Leviton.
Justice Minister Sara Sackman, MP for Finchley and Golders Green also met with survivor Eve Kugler and Dr Agnes Kaposi, both local constituents, ahead of next Monday’s commemoration.
Karen Pollock added:” Following his visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau last week it was extremely powerful to see the Prime Minister talking to survivors of the Holocaust, including those who survived Auschwitz.
“Having seen the notorious site where approximately a million Jewish men, women and children were sent to be murdered and having stood at the very spot where families were separated forever, to talk to those who somehow managed to survive shines a spotlight on the human stories behind this dark history.
“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.”
