Group of Holocaust survivors demand Nigel Farage apologize over reported antisemitic remarks

A group of 11 Holocaust survivors urges far-right British politician Nigel Farage to make a sincere apology following a report alleging he made antisemitic remarks at school, in a letter seen by the Guardian newspaper.

After the Guardian reported that some of Farage’s contemporaries at school had accused him of making racist and antisemitic remarks, including that “Hitler was right,” Farage told BBC News: “I’ve never directly racially abused anybody. No.”

Several former classmates promptly rejected Farage’s comments, accusing him of intentionally targeting fellow students and now lying about it.

“As Holocaust survivors, we understand the danger of hateful words – because we have seen where such words lead,” the survivors write in the letter. “Let us be clear: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not in a playground. Not anywhere.

“When allegations arise about invoking Nazi attitudes toward Jewish children, the responsible response is honesty, reflection, and commitment to truth.

“So we ask you: did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to antisemitic abuse?

“If you deny saying those words, are you saying that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If you did say them, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong, and apologize.

“Those who hope to lead our country should never divide people by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalized. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage.”

Among the signatories is Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who spent almost a year in Auschwitz Birkenau before being moved to Bergen-Belsen until she was liberated in April 1945.

Hedi Argent, Simon Winston, Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye, and Agnes Kaposi are others named in the letter.