17 October 2026

At the end of September, Stephen Kerr MSP successfully passed a motion in the Scottish Parliament. It read:

‘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.

‘Notes that, despite being urged to return to the safety of Scotland as the threat to Jewish people in Hungary intensified, Jane chose to remain with the children in her care, believing that they needed her all the more in times of danger; recognises that Jane was arrested in Budapest in 1944, deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and died there on 17 July 1944, aged 47.

‘Further recognises that Jane Haining was posthumously honoured by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for her courage in helping Jewish people during the Holocaust; 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.

‘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.

‘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.’

This was done on the back of Haining’s name being added to an extension of the memorial wall at Auschwitz. A spokesman for Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum said, ‘The corridor has two important purposes. It restores individual names and identities to people who were imprisoned and killed in Auschwitz, but it also helps visitors understand the complexity of the prisoner population.’

The motion comes after the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service issued statistics concerning hate crime in Scotland. There has been a 17% rise in hate crime and a similar rise in racial crime. Haining was killed in the gas chamber at Auschwitz simply because she cared for girls who happened to be Jews!