Frank Foley
The government is to fund a statue honouring British Holocaust hero Frank Foley and will increase its support for the Holocaust Educational Trust to the the of £500,000, the Chancellor has announced.
George Osborne made the pledge during a parliamentary reception honouring the former British intelligence officer, who used his position working undercover as a passport control officer to help thousands of Jews escape Nazi Germany.
Dudley MP Ian Austin, who hosted yesterday’s reception which was attended by members of Foley’s family, has campaigned for the permanent memorial to add to honours from the British and Israeli governments.
Osborne said: “I hope we continue to fight for what he fought for. There have always been those willing to stand up rather than walk by. Even in darkest moments there were shining lights.” He joked that fines from the Libor case provided resources, drawing a distinction between those actions of Foley’s which showed “the best of British values”.
He paid tribute to the “bravery” of the survivors in continuing to tell their stories and to the “brilliant” work of the Holocaust Educational Trust in keeping the memory alive, before announcing the additional funding to extend the Lessons from Auschwitz programme.
Revealing he had visited Dachau with his children last month, he added: “No book can capture what you see when you go to these terrible sights but the fact many have been preserved help make sure that as survivors pass away we remember and don’t repeat.”
Branding the anti-Semitism targeted at Luciana Berger on social media as “disgusting”, Osborne said all those in public life have a responsibility to root out antisemitism “wherever it is found”. The event was also addressed by Michael Smith whose book on Foley brought his story to public consciousness.
Austin said: “When other European countries were sending Jews to concentration camps, Britain provided a safe haven for tens of thousands of refugees. I think this period defines what it means to be British – our unique response to the Holocaust and role in the War gives us the right to claim a particular attached to the values of democracy, equality, freedom, fairness and tolerance.
“Frank Foley embodies these values. His refusal to stand by when people were being singled out because of their race and religion marks him out as a true local hero, and his name should be one that everyone in Dudley recognises and celebrates.”
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