Holocaust Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks.

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

The political party leader has said he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "playground banter".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we grasp the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have seen where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a letter.

"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The document poses direct questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was imprisoned 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 incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

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

Growing Accounts

This intervention follows the rejection of similar accounts by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, further individuals from that era have come forward. 28 former pupils and teachers now state they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.

Additional Claims

Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have also shared experiences with allegations of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "Paki" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The survivors' letter asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to take responsibility and make amends."

"Those who hope to lead our country should never create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."