Members of the Scottish Parliament have said they hope the example of a Church of Scotland missionary, who died in Auschwitz, would encourage people to “confront prejudice, persecution and hatred”.
Jane Haining was born in Dumfriesshire in 1897, and in 1932 moved to Hungary to serve as matron of the Scottish Mission School in Budapest.
When war broke out in 1939, the Church of Scotland advised Haining to return to Scotland. Instead, she opted to stay and watch over her charges, many of whom were Jewish. She said, “If these children need me in days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in days of darkness?”
Haining was arrested shortly after Germany’s occupation of Hungary in 1944. Despite telling the children she would “be back by lunch”, she was in fact sent to Auschwitz, where she died two months later at the age of 47.
Earlier this year a plaque commemorating Haining was unveiled at the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum.
In a cross-party motion in the Scottish Parliament, MSPs gave their own tribute to Haining, adding that they hoped her example would resonate with people at what they said was a time of rising hate crime and antisemitism.
The motion states, “That the Parliament remembers the life, courage and sacrifice of Jane Haining, the Scottish missionary and Church of Scotland school matron who cared for Jewish and Christian girls at the Scottish Mission School in Budapest during the Second World War".
The motion later "welcomes the addition of her name to a memorial wall at Auschwitz-Birkenau, ensuring that her story will continue to be told to future generations", and "believes that her life stands as an enduring example of Christian service, compassion, moral courage and the refusal to abandon others in the face of persecution".
In its conclusion, the motion “considers that her example has particular resonance at a time when antisemitism and hatred reportedly continue to threaten Jewish communities around the world, and encourages people across Scotland to remember Jane Haining and to reflect on the responsibility of every generation to confront prejudice, persecution and hatred wherever they arise".
Responding to the motion, a Church of Scotland spokesman said that Haining’s life was “a fine example of Christian service over self-interest”, adding that it was “wonderful” that her life had been recognised by MSPs.
