The legacy of a Scottish Christian who gave her life to protect Jewish schoolgirls in World War Two will be kept 'alive' in a heritage centre honouring her life and martyrdom, opening in Scotland today.
The heroic sacrifice of Jane Haining, who died in Auschwitz concentration camp, is being honoured and celebrated at Dunscore Church in Dumfries and Galloway, the Church of Scotland has revealed. The centre opens today, on Holocaust Memorial Day. The occasion marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz (January 27, 1945), remembering the millions who suffered Nazi oppression in the Holocaust, and those persecuted in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.
Haining's heritage centre is being opened by Lord-Lieutenant of Dumfries, Fiona Armstrong. She said: 'Here in Dumfriesshire, we are very proud to honour the memory of such a brave and selfless woman.
'This new heritage centre will help to keep Jane Haining's memory alive and it is all tribute to those in Dunscore who have made it possible.'
Haining, a Kirk missionary, worked with children at the Scottish Mission School in Budapest, Hungary in the 1930s and 40s. When war broke out, she refused to return home out of commitment to the children who she said needed her. She was arrested in 1944 for working with Jews and was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, Poland; she died there age 47. She is the only Scot to be honoured at Yad Vasehm, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Israel, and the UK government has honoured her for 'preserving life in the face of persecution'.
'When instructed by the Church to return home for her own safety, she wrote back "if these children need me in days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in days of darkness?"' explained the Rev Iain Cunningham, convener of the Church of Scotland's World Mission Council.
He added: 'Jane's words live on like a light shining in the dark places of today's world.'
Haining's niece, Deirdre McDowell, will unveil a Historic Environment Scotland plaque in memory of her aunt.
'It is a fitting tribute to Jane's memory that a heritage centre has been opened in the village where she was born,' she said.
'The people of Dunscore have been wonderful in getting this centre up and running so there is a comprehensive, lasting memorial to her life. I am excited about the prospect of visiting the village where I was born and it will be lovely to be able to walk around a room in the church and look at memorabilia.'
The heritage centre at the A-listed church building will feature various personal effects, artefacts and testimonies relating to Haining's life. A secial service at Dunscore Church will today celebrate Haining's life and the opening of the centre. A special poem about the Scottish martyr, written by BBC Scotland Poet in Residence Stuart Paterson, will be read aloud at the service.
For more information about the centre, click here.
