Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Comments.

A coalition of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for reported antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.

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

"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of bigoted language – because we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a open letter.

"It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."

An Unequivocal Demand

The document puts forth straightforward questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to antisemitic abuse?"

The Signatories

The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping 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 freed.

Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Mounting Testimony

This intervention is a response to the dismissal of similar allegations by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.

Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. 28 people connected to the school now claim they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.

One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were without intent.
• Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The final appeal asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and say sorry."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances sow discord by background or belief. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."