The Queen issued a rallying call yesterday to “never forget” the atrocities of the Holocaust as levels of antisemitism reached “their highest level for a generation.”
Addressing the annual Anne Frank Trust UK lunch, Camilla urged those gathered to “heed the warning” of Holocaust survivor Marian Turski, a Polish Jew, who warned against complacency in the wake of rising antisemitism.
Her Majesty met Holocaust survivors Eva Clarke BEM, who was born in Mathausen concentration camp just before it was liberated 80 years ago, and Mala Tribich MBE, who was in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the same time as Anne Frank, as well as John Wood, whose father Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Berney liberated Bergen-Belsen in April 1945.
The Queen also lit a candle in memory of victims of the Shoah.
Camilla added: “The deadly seeds of the Holocaust were sown at first in small acts of exclusion, of aggression and of discrimination towards those who had previously been neighbours and friends.
“Over a terrifying short period of time, those seeds took root through the complacency of which we can all be guilty: of turning away from injustice, of ignoring that which we know to be wrong, of thinking that someone else will do what’s needed – and of remaining silent.”
The Anne Frank Trust annual lunch
Photo by John Stillwell
The Queen concluded her speech with: “Let’s unite in our commitment to take action, to speak up and to ensure that the words ‘Never Forget’ are a guiding light that charts a path towards a better, brighter, and more tolerant future for us all.”
Last year, Camilla was announced as the first royal patron of the Anne Frank Trust UK.
Anne Frank was a committed royalist. One of her hobbies while in hiding was to trace the family trees of European royal families. On 21 April 1944 she recorded in her diary the 18th birthday of “this beauty” Princess Elizabeth of York, later HM Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen concluded with: “Let’s unite in our commitment to take action, to speak up and to ensure that the words ‘Never Forget’ are a guiding light that charts a path towards a better, brighter, and more tolerant future for us all.
Her picture postcards of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret can still be seen on the walls of her bedroom in what is now the Anne Frank House Museum, visited by over 1 million visitors a year.
The Anne Frank Trust UK is an education charity which uses learnings from Anne Frank and the Holocaust to empower young people recognise and challenge all forms of prejudice. This year the charity’s programmes – which include workshops on antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-refugee prejudice – reached over 126,000 pupils in schools across Britain.
Research by the University of Kent found that 95.8% of participants made significant progress in their knowledge of prejudice following these engagements.
The Queen meeting schoolchildren at the event. Photo by Ian Jones
Yesterday’s lunch, held at the prestigious Hilton Hotel in Park Lane, London, marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust and the death of Anne Frank. Notable supporters in attendance included actor and writer Sir Stephen Fry, who was the guest speaker, broadcaster and journalist Emma Barnett, who hosted the event, and television personality Rob Rinder MBE.
Sir Stephen Fry told the 600 attendees: “The cry ‘Never Again’ becomes less powerful every year. We don’t need to be reminded how emboldened Holocaust deniers have become.
“How do we tackle this challenge? Our most sacred duty when remembering the Holocaust is to the truth, the absolute truth. When recounting a story, don’t elaborate or embroider.
“Our enemies are waiting for the slightest provable inaccuracy. We cannot leave a gap for them to get through.”
On Monday, King Charles will attend a memorial service at Auschwitz-Birkenau to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and other heads of state.
