HR
H The Duke of Cambridge started the first ever official royal visit to Israel this morning by visiting Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.
The Prince, accompanied by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, had a guided tour of the museum and memorial. During his visit he spoke to Paul Alexander and Henry Foner whom are two survivors of the Kindertransport. Henry Foner gave Prince William a copy of his book “Postcards to a Little Boy” which is a collection of postcards that his father sent him before he was captured by the Nazis and murdered in Auschwitz, and thanked Britain for “saving his life”.
Shortly after meeting with the two survivors he went on to see the Museum of Holocaust Art and the Holocaust History Museum where he signed the museum’s guestbook. In his message, the Prince stated: “We must never forget the Holocaust”. He also laid a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance during a memorial service.
The Prince wrote: “It has been a profoundly moving experience to visit Yad Vashem today. It is almost impossible to comprehend this appalling event in history. Every name, photograph and memory recorded here is a tragic reminder of the loss suffered by the Jewish people. The story of the Holocaust is one of darkness and despair, questioning humanity itself”.
He added: “We must never forget the Holocaust — the murder of 6 million men, women and children, simply because they were Jewish. We all have a responsibility to remember and to teach future generations about the horrors of the past so that they can never reoccur. May the millions of Jewish people remembered by Yad Vashem never be forgotten”.
The Duke also spoke about his Great Grandmother (Princess Alice) who is recognised in Yad Vashem for helping a Jewish family to evade the clutches of the Germans in Greece during the Holocaust.
