Shoah Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A group of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his youth.

The Reform UK leader has said he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have witnessed where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a missive.

"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The letter asks blunt questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Signatories

The group of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Mounting Testimony

This public letter comes after the dismissal of similar allegations by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.

After the story broke, more contemporaries have shared their stories. 28 former pupils and teachers now state they saw bigoted conduct by him.

One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion making a long hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have additionally shared experiences with allegations of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial intimidation".

A Concluding Demand

The survivors' letter asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the time to admit your error and say sorry."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never sow discord by race or religion. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."