Conservative Party candidate for Mayor of London, Zac Goldsmith MP, in a video message on Holocaust Memorial Day underlined the importance of ensuring that the stories of survivors are never forgotten, and that history is never repeated.
The London Mayoral candidate said: “The Holocaust was allowed to occur because the vast majority of Europe’s population chose to keep their heads down in the face of such evil. Holocaust Memorial Day helps ensure that the survivors voices are heard and that their stories are never forgotten”.
He added: “That matters, because their stories aren’t merely lessons in history, they are a warning. The Nazis took power in one of the most advanced and civilised nations we’ve ever known – in a democracy. And our world today is fraught with tension – politically, economically, and environmentally, and the conditions for extreme and irrational prejudice are still present. We should all contemplate our own willingness to do the right thing, to support and protect our own human beings, and to ensure these horrors can never be repeated”.
In his message, Mr Goldsmith also paid tribute to Sir Nicholas Winton, who he described as a “humble Londoner who saved the lives of 669 children, many of them Jewish from Czechoslovakia, on the eve of the Second World War. Sir Nicholas refused to stand by in the face of persecution and tyranny; he exemplified the very best of humankind. People like Sir Nicholas deserve to be remembered and we should draw inspiration from the example he gave us”.
Sir Nicholas died last year at the age of 106. In 1939, he arranged for trains to carry Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Prague, saving the lives of 669 children.
Watch Zac Goldsmith’s message in the video below:
