Holocaust Memorial
Day
(Shrewsbury and Atcham)
(Con)
11. What steps her Department is taking to commemorate Holocaust
Memorial Day in schools. (903058)
The Minister of State, Department for Education ()
Many schools and colleges already mark Holocaust Memorial Day—I
have attended such a remembrance service at Harlow College—and
they work closely with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the
Holocaust Educational Trust, two institutions that the Government
support. That is all the more important given the 128 incidents
of antisemitism in one year in our higher education institutions,
and the fact that, sadly, such incidents are now at an all-time
high.
As well as educating children about the horrors of the holocaust
and the second world war, can we take the opportunity to educate
children about the tremendous courage, bravery and sacrifices of
the Righteous Among the Nations? Many people on the continent
gave up their lives to protect their Jewish friends and
neighbours. One example was a member of my family, Jan
Kawczynski, his wife Helena and their 13-year-old daughter
Magdalena, who were all shot by the Germans for protecting and
hiding their Jewish friends and neighbours on their estate in
western Poland. As well as educating children about the misery of
the holocaust, we must give them inspiration from the fact that
many of our brothers and sisters in occupied Europe made the
ultimate sacrifice to protect friends and neighbours of the
Jewish faith.
Hear, hear. It was very moving to hear of the experience of my
hon. Friend’s family, and I entirely agree with him: we must
teach and remind people that there were many righteous Gentiles
who suffered while doing everything possible to save Jews. A
famous Polish lady, Irena Sendler, saved 2,000 Jewish children
from the Warsaw ghettos, and was remembered in a special
exhibition in the House of Commons in 2018, which I was pleased
to attend. My hon. Friend has made a powerful point, and I am
sure that schools up and down the country will be listening to
what he says.
(Cities of London and
Westminster) (Con)
When I met Jewish students studying in universities in my
constituency, I was appalled to learn of the antisemitism they
have to suffer, often on a daily basis. That was made worse by
the recent report into the National Union of Students’ handling
and challenging of antisemitism. In the month when we mark
Holocaust Memorial Day, I would be interested to hear the
Minister’s assessment of that NUS report.
I have been shocked and sobered by reading that report that the
NUS was in essence a hostile place for Jewish students. That is
not acceptable. The National Union of Students, the main body for
students, should be a place that is not just safe but welcoming
for Jewish students. The proof of the pudding with this report
will be in the eating; I expect to see the changes and the
recommendations implemented in full, and once that has occurred I
will re-engage with the National Union of Students.
