Scottish matron who died in Auschwitz should be 'example' of moral courage against hate crimes

MSPs said the story of Jane Haining, who refused to abandon Jewish school girls in her care during the Holocaust, was an enduring illustration of “Christian service, compassion and moral courage” at a time when hate crimes are at a record high in Scotland.

Cross-party MSPs signed a motion recognising the Church of Scotland matron after her name was added to a special memorial wall at the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Poland, 82 years after her untimely death.

Thy said the example set by Ms Haining should encourage people to confront “prejudice, persecution and hatred wherever they arise”.

The motion to recognise the sacrifice of Miss Haining, who was born and raised in the village of Dunscore in Dumfries and Galloway, was lodged by Stephen Kerr, a Mid Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP.

Miss Haining’s name has been added to a section in the main exhibition devoted to hundreds of prisoners murdered in the Nazi extermination camp for whom no registration photographs were taken.

Mr Kerr said he was particularly touched by a recollection from Agnes Rostas, a former pupil at the Scottish Mission School in Budapest, who witnessed Miss Haining’s arrest. The school had around 400 day and boarding pupils aged from six to 16 years old, a mixture of Jewish and Christian girls.

“On the morning of that day German officers were visiting Miss Haining and from our bedroom window across the hall, we could see her room,” she said.

“After hours of questioning we could see that the two officers were taking her away and as they were going down one set of stairs, we hurried to another set to follow them down.

“We were sitting at the foot of the stairs crying and she looked back and said to us, ‘don’t worry, I’ll be back by lunch’. That was the last time I saw her, and I found out 40 years later she had died in Auschwitz.”

A Church of Scotland spokesman said: "Jane was determined to continue doing her duty and stick to her post, saying ‘If these children need me in days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in days of darkness?'.

“Her life is a fine example of Christian service over self-interest, and it is wonderful to see her story and example highlighted in the Scottish Parliament, garnering the support of cross-party MSPs.”

Ms Hainey’s motion comes as official Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service figures show hate crime in Scotland is at a record high.

The total number of charges reported containing at least one element of hate crime in 2025-26 was 7,115, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year. Racial crime remains the most commonly reported hate crime with 3,990 charges reported in 2025-26, also an increase of 17 per cent on a year earlier.

The motion says: “That the Parliament...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.

“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.”