Britannia Radio

From The Times
April 29, 2009
Gordon Brown's pledge from the darkness of Auschwitz

Ruth Gledhill
Religion Correspondent

Gordon Brown pledged to battle against “darkness” in the world as he
went on an emotional tour of Auschwitz with his wife Sarah yesterday.

The Prime Minister said that the Nazi death camp – where more than 1.1
million Jews and 200,000 others died – was also a reminder that the
human spirit would overcome.

Mr Brown and his wife were shown around Auschwitz and the nearby
Birkenau camp by the director of the museum, Piotr Cywinski.

The Prime Minister saw gas chambers and the shaved hair of inmates –
which was collected and sold by the Nazis – along with piles of shoes
and spectacles belonging to those who were murdered. He was visibly
moved as he placed a candle at the Death Wall, where summary killings by
firing squad were held.
Times Archive, 1945: Four million deaths at Oswiecim

A State commission has found that more than 4,000,000 people perished at
Oswiecim between 1941 and the beginning of this year

Mr and Mrs Brown also walked along the railway tracks on which victims,
packed in trains, arrived from across Europe between 1940 and 1945, and
stood in the lookout tower where their jailers kept watch.

Mr Brown wrote in the Auschwitz visitors’ book: “What we have seen this
afternoon is a harrowing testament to the murder of so many who suffered
the extremes of terror. What has happened here is a shared human story,
a perpetual reminder of all the darkness of which the world is capable,
but also a story of what the world can endure and survive.

“In this place of darkness, I reaffirm my belief that we all have a
duty, each and every one of us, not to stand by but to stand up against
discrimination and prejudice. As we remember the worst of our past, we
must each commit ourselves to serve the best of our future.”

The Prime Minister will reveal in the Commons today details of a new
award to recognise British citizens who helped Jews and other persecuted
groups during the Second World War.

Karen Pollock, the chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust,
said: “The Prime Minister has been a longstanding supporter of Holocaust
education and we are . . . delighted that [he] and the British
Government will create an award of recognition in memory of these
British heroes.”

http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/comment/ faith/article618 8556.ece