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

A group of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his youth.

The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Shoah survivors, we grasp the grave risk of bigoted language – for we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter.

"It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."

An Unequivocal Demand

The correspondence asks straightforward questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Survivors

The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal stories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved 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 imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

Additional names on the letter 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 characterisation of similar accounts by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.

Following the publication, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 former pupils and teachers now assert they saw prejudiced actions by him.

One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.

Additional Claims

More individuals from ethnic minorities have also shared experiences with accounts of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "racial slur" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were without intent.
• Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Ultimate Question

The final appeal asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."

"Individuals who seek to govern our country should not ever sow discord by background or belief. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."