Scotland's Schindler Jane Haining needs to be honored, say politicians

Edinburgh, Jan.27 (ANI): SHE has been described as Scotland's Schindler for refusing to abandon dozens of Jewish orphans in Budapest during the Second World War.

But Jane Haining, who paid for her beliefs with her life, has yet to be formally recognized in Britain for her heroic deeds.

Today, as Britain marks Holocaust Memorial Day, senior politicians are calling for a change in the honours system so Haining can be properly honored for her courage and selflessness, reports The Scotsman.

The Holocaust Education Trust's campaign has received support from leading figures, including Alex Salmond, the First Minister, and David Mundell, the shadow Scottish secretary.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has praised Haining's heroic refusal to leave the children she was teaching when the Nazis invaded Hungary.

Haining and the children were eventually sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland where it is believed their lives were ended in a gas chamber. She was born in 1897 and died in July 1944.

The campaign aims to gain honours for Ms Haining and five other Britons recognised in Israel as Righteous Among the Nations - a title for non-Jews who helped Jews during the Holocaust - but who have never received any formal, widespread recognition in their homeland.

The Holocaust Education Trust was established in 1988 to promote awareness of Nazi atrocities during the Second World War. It is best known for organising trips to Auschwitz for young people aged 17 and 18 to help them to understand better what happened in the concentration and death camps.

The programme received a huge boost when it caught the attention of Gordon Brown, when he was chancellor, and won direct funding to roll it out across Britain. (ANI)