‘Shoah influenced stand
DAVID MILIBAND said this week that his family’s experiences during the Nazi era may have influenced his politics — “standing up against oppressive power”.
Delivering the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lord Merlyn Rees memorial lecture at the Houses of Parliament on Monday, the Labour MP said he was part of a “transitional generation that has gone from the Holocaust being a close memory to now providing a sense of perspective and responsibility. My parents were very conscious that this was an important part of our story.”
His father and grandfather left Brussels in 1940, while his grandmother and aunt remained during the Nazi occupation. “People thought the women would be okay. They went to a small village and presented themselves to a Catholic family who sheltered them.”
Education Secretary Michael Gove was sitting quietly among the audience of 200 when the event’s host, Radio 4 presenter Martha Kearney, spotted him and asked him to speak.
“I came along because it’s rare that any politician has an hour during which they don’t talk and only listen,” Mr Gove responded. “I am a great supporter of the work the HET has done and continues to do.” Paying tribute to the previous government, Mr Gove said the trust “wouldn’t be in the position it is now if it wasn’t for my predecessors”, highlighting the support of Ed Balls, among others.
Journalist Danny Finkelstein, chair of Conservative think-tank Policy Exchange, also praised the opposition, saying: “Even though I worked for William Hague, I have respect for Gordon Brown.
“I’m very protective about politicians in this country — democratic liberals. I’m a process liberal and that’s definitely related to my parents’ experiences. My parents were driven out of