'Heroes of Holocaust' honoured

Published on Tuesday 9 March 2010 20:38

GORDON Brown last night paid tribute to the "selfless humanity" of Britons who helped save Jews and other persecuted groups during the Second World War as they were honoured at Downing Street.

The Prime Minister announced the creation of the new "Hero of the Holocaust" award last year on a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Two surviving recipients, Sir Nicholas Winton and Denis Avey, were given their medals in person while others were recognised posthumously.

Sir Nicholas Winton, who is now 100, organised the rescue of 669 mainly Jewish children by train from Prague in 1939.

Mr Avey, 91, exchanged places with a Jewish inmate at Auschwitz while he was a prisoner of war – gathering facts about conditions and helping an inmate survive by sharing supplies.

Mr Brown said: "It is with the greatest of pride and the most profound humility that I welcome you here for this celebration of what I call selfless humanity."

He added: "The Holocaust is modern history's darkest chapter. It is the most grievous example of degradation and depravity by men and women to men, women and children. It is against that background that the courage of those we recognise today, who risked their lives to save others, stands out all the brighter.

"Those individual acts of bravery – undertaken knowing that, if discovered, the highest price would be paid – are not dimmed by the passing of the years. As we mark this year the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, let us never forget that what happened is, yes, an epic of cruelty but yes, too, it is an epic of courage, of people who did so much to help other people in need."

The award was announced after a long campaign by the Holocaust Education Trust – backed by MPs.