At a special ceremony at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, jointly hosted with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, on Tuesday 23rd January 2018, Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP honoured eight British citizens who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
British Hero of the Holocaust is a special award given by the British Government to people who helped or rescued Jews and others facing Nazi persecution before and during the Second World War. The award was created in 2009 following a campaign by the Holocaust Educational Trust to ensure that their actions were properly recognised; the first awards were given in 2010.
Commenting on the latest round of awards, Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said:
“Today, eight British men and women were honoured by the Government for their courageous actions to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust. These people, who risked their lives for the sake of others, serve as a model for all of us. In today’s world, when antisemitism and intolerance continue to blight our society, their stories of bravery are an inspiration.
When we campaigned in 2008 for British people to be recognised for their selfless acts during the Second World War, we did so because we believe that their names should have a permanent place in our history, and that their stories should be a source of pride. We are delighted that the British Heroes of the Holocaust Award continues to recognise these special individuals who remind us all of the power we have to make a difference.”
The latest recipients of the award are:
- John Carvell, British Consul-General in Munich, who helped Jews to leave Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
- Trevor Chadwick, a schoolteacher from Dorset who, with Nicholas Winton (who was honoured in 2010), organised the rescue of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on the Kindertransport.
- Sir George Ogilvie-Forbes, Counsellor and Chargé d’Affaires at the British Embassy in Berlin, who assisted in the escape of Jewish refugees.
- Sir Thomas Preston, British Consul in Lithuania, who enabled Jews to escape to Palestine and Sweden.
- Margaret Reid, intelligence officer at the British Embassy in Berlin who worked with Frank Foley (honoured in 2010) to help German Jews to escape.
- Otto Schiff, Chairman of the Jewish Refugees Committee (later the German Jewish Aid Committee), who played a leading role in organising for Jewish refugees to leave Germany as well as in supporting them in the UK.
- Doreen Warriner, an academic from University College London who headed the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia which helped Jews and political opponents to escape from the Nazis.
- Dorothea Weber (née Le Brocq),a citizen of Jersey who sheltered her Jewish friend Hedwig Bercu during the German occupation of the Channel Islands.