Starmer honours Jewish veterans in VE Day column

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to two Jewish Second World War veterans in a newspaper column marking VE Day.

Writing for Metro to honour the 80th year anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, the prime minister spoke about how today represents an “opportunity to pay our respects once again to the lion-hearted generation that defeated Nazi evil”.

The Churchill statue stands before Big Ben illuminated with a Union Flag (Image: Getty)Getty Images

He also paid tribute to Stanley Fisher and Mervyn Kersch, two Jewish veterans of the Normandy landings who helped to liberate Bergen-Belsen

“I spoke to Mervyn earlier this year, and theirs is a harrowing and courageous story”, Starmer wrote.

He went on: “Stanley and Mervyn went on to see the horrors inflicted on Jews like them at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, when it was liberated by British forces.

“It is a powerful reminder that our victory was not just a victory for Britain. It was also a defeat of the assembled forces of tyranny, hatred and evil.

"Nonetheless, for years after, Stanley and Mervyn were too haunted by the suffering to talk about what they saw.”

Last month, both Fisher and Kersh featured in a video released by Downing Street to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.

Fisher said that what he saw gave him “nightmares for quite a few years”, describing the sight of starving survivors resembling “human skeletons”. “I think you could say you could smell death”, he added.

In a post shared by the Ministry of Defence on the anniversary of the liberation, he wrote: “My fellow Jews were slaughtered for no reason other than they were Jewish, and that hurt.”

Similarly, Kersh recalled the sight of those few survivors fit enough to walk as “shocking”.

Proceedings in Parliament today were suspended as part of VE Day commemorations. The interruption recreated a similar moment that took place in 1945 and a procession led by the speakers of both Houses went from Parliament to Westminster Abbey.

A two minute silence was held at midday.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the London Defence Conference this morning (Image: Getty)Getty Images

Earlier in the day, in a speech at the London Defence Conference this morning, the prime minister said described victory over the Nazis as “The greatest victory in the history of this great nation. A victory not just for Britain. But for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil... For the light of our values – in a world that tried to put them out.”

Karen Pollack from the Holocaust Educational Trust said: “It is wonderful to see the Prime Minister highlight the incredible stories of British Second World War veterans Stanley Fischer and Mervyn Kersh on VE day. These men were both Jewish servicemen, they were part of the Normandy landings and they both went on to witness the horrors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, seeing the immediate aftermath of liberation.

" It is impossible to imagine the heartache they must have felt witnessing such appalling scenes. These men are some of the last of their generation who fought against the Nazis. Their stories remind us of the painful reality of war, and of the appalling truth of the Holocaust.

"Today, on VE Day, our thanks go to these brave men, and to all who fought against tyranny and evil. Thank you to the prime minister for shining a light on these heroes and their important stories.”