Holocaust survivor thanks those who took ‘high risks' to help Jews during war
Holocaust survivor thanks those who took 'high risks' to help Jews during war
A Holocaust survivor has paid tribute to the 'high risks' people took to help Jews during the Second World War.
Jacques Weisser, 83, was born in Antwerp during the war and subsequently hidden when his parents were taken to Auschwitz concentration camp.
He was one of 22 Holocaust survivors and Second World War refugees who attended a VE Day tea party organised by the Association of Jewish Refugees at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Museum in north London on Tuesday.
Henny Franks, aged 101, escaped to the UK in February 1939 (Yui Mok/PA)
Survivors and their descendants were given a tour of wartime RAF fighter planes and listened to a swing band perform.
Mr Weisser said: 'My father survived Auschwitz. My mother did not.
ADVERTISEMENT
'It's all luck. We are the lucky ones. We have a lot to be thankful for.
The RAF hosted the special event ahead of the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Yui Mok/PA)
'People took such high risks with their own lives and their families. We owe them so much. Sadly, there weren't enough of them.'
Henny Franks, 101, escaped to the UK in 1939 via a Kindertransport with her younger sister.
She said: 'I've lived a happy life. I was lucky enough that when I came to England, my father's first cousin from Poland took me in.
'I've been brought up to be happy. I am in contact with some others (refugees) but I'm about one of the oldest.'
Holocaust survivors, refugees and descendants took part in the special event (Yui Mok/PA)
Mrs Franks, who trained in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in the British Army when she was 19, added: 'I love England very much. I felt so proud to be in the army. I did my bit.
'I met all these lovely, lovely people. And in the army I met all my Jewish friends.'
Mrs Franks was awarded the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939-45 and the HM Armed Forces Veteran Badge in 2023 when she turned 100, and said she was surprised because 'I didn't know I was eligible'.
ADVERTISEMENT
Maurice Peltz was four years old when his family escaped Poland.
He said he was a keen dancer growing up and danced with the Princess of Wales at a survivors' ceremony at the Guildhall in January.
The 98-year-old said: 'She's a charming person. I said: 'I shall dance with you,' and she said: 'That would be nice.''
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Weekend Jewish kids' event changes plans due to security concerns
DENVER (KDVR) — In light of the Boulder terror attack, some Jewish organizations are rethinking their public events. Some hesitation among those in the Jewish community gathering in public after the Boulder attack. One growing group in Colorado, Valley Beit Midrash Denver, said they will not cancel their events, but they will take precautions to make it safe. FBI warns of threat to Israeli, Jewish communities after Boulder attack, others Usually, the event is at Washington Park in Denver, and they have since decided to move it inside Temple Emanuel, citing safety reasons. '[We're] taking all measures necessary to ensure the safety of everybody who joins and our team,' said Ariel Nassau with the Valley Beit Midrash Denver. 'It's disheartening. It is the situation that we're going through right now, and we have to adapt as hard as it is.' Valley Beit Midrash hosts monthly events for young families and is having to scramble to make sure those who come feel safe. The event is called Jewish Learning, and they teach kids between one to five years old about different topics through reading, crafts, and activities. 'All these feelings of being scared, being sad, being shocked. They are overcome by being together, by talking, by creating community. So I would encourage people to do it, in spite of it being hard, especially right now,' he said. The event is June 7, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and this month's topic is diversity. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
World War Two veteran turns 100 on D-Day anniversary
An RAF veteran has said he would not change a thing about his life as he celebrated his 100th birthday on the anniversary of D-Day. Edward 'Ted' Carter from Caerphilly turned 19 on D-Day, 81 years ago on 6 June 1944. He was deployed in India at the time, a memory he described as "wonderful". Reflecting on becoming a centenarian, Mr Carter said he had had "a very, very happy life". "I think we should all live a peaceful, happy life, helping people as much as we can, give back as much as we can," he said. I partied outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day WW2 tank driver stopped on VE Day by flat battery 101-year-old WW2 codebreakers reunite for VE Day After leaving school at 16, Mr Carter joined the railway and said his father told him "you won't make much money". "I didn't want to work anywhere else," he said. He initially worked in the signal boxes, then "on the trains", When he was called up to serve in the war effort, he did not want to join the Army. "And I couldn't swim, so I thought the air force was best for me," he added. For four-and-a-half years, he served in the Royal Air Force as an engineer, working on Wellington and Lancaster bombers. "You had to learn in six months what in peace time would take you three years." Reflecting on the conflict, Mr Carter said: "I think, I hope, the world has got a better place. "All we want is a quiet, peaceful life." When he left the RAF, he joined what is now Great Western Railway. Returning to Wales in 1946, home became the cottage he shared with his late wife Margaret. They met as teenagers, and married aged 22 and 23. "I'm so glad I met Margaret when she was 15," he said. "We had 61 years of a lovely life together." With savings of £380, they spent £320 on their cottage in Bedwas and £11 on solicitors fees and went on to raise three children there – Paul, Sharon and Ann. In fact, the letter he recently received from the King, marking his big birthday, was actually his second correspondence from a monarch, having also had one for his 60th wedding anniversary from Elizabeth II. "[Our dad] taught us to be hard working, kind," said Sharon. Paul added: "He's been an exceptional human being. He's terrific." At 98, Mr Carter was still regularly seen tending to his beloved garden at the cottage, particularly its orchard with pear, apple and plum trees. "We grew everything," he recalled. He now lives at Castle View care home in Caerphilly, where staff and residents threw him a birthday party. "All my life I've had very good luck and health. What can you ask for more than that? "If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change it." Wales' oldest person celebrates her 112th birthday Lost medals replaced for veteran, 100
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
‘This is our duty': D-Day veterans gather to mark landings 81 years on
D-Day veterans have gathered on a Normandy beach to remember the landings 81 years on. The veterans, aged between 99 and 101, travelled to France for the annual ceremony of remembrance for the men who landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6 1944, to liberate France from Nazi occupation during the Second World War. The five men – Ken Hay, Richard Aldred, Henry Rice, Jim Grant and John Dennett – gathered ahead of the ceremony for a photograph on Sword Beach, one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast. The veterans, sitting in wheelchairs while adorned with medals of service, are some of the few D-Day veterans who are still alive today. Mr Hay, 99, was a private in the 4th Battalion with the Dorset Regiment, and was captured by Nazi troops shortly after the D-Day landings. Held as a prisoner of war, he was taken to Poland and forced to work in coal mines before he was liberated by US troops in 1945. On the eve of the ceremony, Mr Hay told The Telegraph: 'Even though the 80th anniversary has passed, we veterans still feel it is our duty to come back here and remember all our friends who never came home. 'We get applauded, even though they are the ones who gave all. 'Sharing my stories with children in the UK and France is something I am very passionate about. We are the age of their great grandparents – we experienced it, understand it and know that it should never happen again.' Francis 'Jim' Grant, 100, served as a Royal Marine and manned a gun on a Landing Craft Flak on D-Day, spending many hours providing covering fire for troops landing on the Normandy beaches. He said: 'I don't think we were really prepared for what happened. We were firing over the tops of their heads.' John Dennett, 100, was a Royal Navy anti-aircraft gunner on one of the thousands of ships taking troops onto the Normandy beaches. The veteran, from Wallasey, Merseyside, made sure the Allied soldiers did not get shot from overhead during the combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. On the 80th anniversary of the famous landings last year, Mr Dennett recalled the 'unbelievable' sight of the ships sailing to Normandy. He said he remembered the sight of the 7,000 ships and thinking 'nothing can happen to us'. 'When they'd gone and opened their fire and they did realise there was trouble, and your feelings were 'well this one is a bit different than the last one',' he added. Mr Rice, 99, from Cranleigh, Surrey, was a signalman who arrived off Juno Beach five days after D-Day. While Mr Aldred, 100, was a Cromwell tank driver attached to the 7th Armoured Division in the Army. Their photographs came before Lord Dannatt, former head of the Army, spoke at the remembrance service at the British Normandy Memorial above Gold Beach. He said the legacy of the soldiers killed on the battlefields of Normandy paved the way for the Europe in which we live today, before warning that the shadow of the Ukrainian war looms over the continent. The former chief of the general staff added: 'The price of returning peace and freedom to Europe was very high but the legacy of the fallen and the courage, determination and commitment of all those who fought in the Normandy Campaign has given us the Europe in which we live today, albeit in the shadow of the war in Ukraine.' Lord Dannatt, who chairs the Normandy Memorial Trust and is patron of the Spirit of Normandy Trust, gave the welcoming speech at the annual ceremony of remembrance, which is led jointly by the two trusts. The Rev Simon d'Albertanson, a Royal Navy chaplain and the chaplain for the Spirit of Normandy Trust, led a memorial service at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, describing D-Day as a 'seminal moment in history'. He reminded veterans, officials and members of the public that the legacy of D-Day was vitally important given the conflict and 'troubled times that we live in'. Mr d'Albertanson said: 'This was a seminal moment in history, and we forget it at our peril. 'There's a legacy that builds from the different conflicts, and we live in very troubled times right now, and we need men and women who are fighting for peace. 'As a Christian, one of the lines in the Bible is 'Blessed are the peacemakers'. 'We're called to make peace and sometimes that means we have to bring violence, but that's the last resort. We want to be peacemakers.' Two of the chaplain's own relatives fought during the Second World War. His grandfather, Fred Hawker, joined the Royal Marines in 1942 and served on several ships, including HMS Ark Royal, while his great-uncle, who was a Royal Navy sailor, lost his life during the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Mr d'Albertanson said: 'It's an absolute honour and a privilege to be a part of this. This is all about the veterans and honouring the fallen, those who gave their lives, for our freedom. 'Being here brings it to life. 'It makes you realise what you're involved in, the men and women of the armed forces today – and as chaplains we go with them.' John Healey, the Defence Secretary, also attended events commemorating D-Day, alongside politicians from the United States and France. He said: 'We forever owe an enormous debt to the British and Allied forces who landed in Normandy 81 years ago today, determined to defeat Nazi tyranny and restore peace to western Europe. 'As we reset the nation's contract with our armed forces, we will continue to remember all those who served to defend our values.' The Normandy landings took place on June 6 1944, when nearly 160,000 Allied forces opened a second front by invading Nazi-occupied France. Of those, 73,000 were from the United States and 83,000 from Britain and Canada. Forces from several other countries were also involved, including French troops fighting with General Charles de Gaulle. The Allies faced around 50,000 German forces and a total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
