The Holocaust saw over six million Jews killed by the Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler
Emotional stories of the persecution of councillors’ families and visits to concentration camps have led debates around tackling anti-Semitism in local councils recently.
North Kesteven District and City of Lincoln Councils are among the latest authorities in the UK to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Anti-Semitism.
It reads: “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.
“Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
The aim is to clearly define and give all organisations the same understanding of the term.
The definition has also been adopted by a number of national and international organisations across the world, including the European Union, the United Nations, the City of London, football clubs, universities, and other religious and cultural leaders.
North Kesteven District Councillor Ian Carrington.
At North Kesteven District Council, which approved a motion in December, Councillor Ian Carrington told the authority of his grandfather, who, on a cold winter’s night was picked up by a group of men while wandering the streets of Warsaw in Poland.
He was bundled into a car and “never seen again alive”, said Councillor Carrington.
“I’ve no idea whether he died in one of the death camps or died in an SS bunker,” he said.
Many members of Councillor Carrington’s father’s family did not survive the Second World War.
“It’s only really by the grace of God and historical fluke that my father survived and I’m here,” he said.
“The point is that my grandfather wasn’t Jewish, he wasn’t a communist or a political agitator he was just basically in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“But such was the way that cancer of anti-Semitism spread it became acceptable to the Nazis to pick people off the streets and kill for revenge or for whatever reason they felt.
“It started with anti-Semitism, a massive evil in its own right, but things go even worse if we don’t quell it.”
City of Lincoln councillor Eddie Strengiel. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
On Tuesday, the City of Lincoln Council councillor Eddie Strengiel told of how his father, who at the age of 19 was in the Polish Cavalry, was captured several times and made a number of escapes. He was a Roman Catholic.
He also told how his uncle’s mum and dad were forced to work the fields, eating whatever they could scrounge. His aunt, experimented on by Nazi’s, was unable to bear children.
“This place called Łódź had the biggest concentration. They call it a Jewish ghetto in Poland and they used to transport not just Jewish people, Romanies, beggars, and others, but mainly Jewish.
“I’ve been there. I’ve seen what used to be the ghetto. I saw the places where they were taken from.
“There’s a lot of history, and the side effects of this hatred doesn’t affect just one community, it has a knock-on effect.”
His father, having joined the British Army at the end of the war, still could not go back to Poland afterwards due to the Soviet Union’s occupation of parts of the country.
Councillor Strengiel concluded: “Let’s try and put the past behind us but ensure that the past never happens again.”
Several councillors during the debates also spoke of their chilling and often-difficult experiences during visits to camps such as Auschwitz had on them and those they were with.
Other councils to have adopted the IHRA definition include North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire Council.
North Lincolnshire Council also has plans for a new holocaust memorial sculpture in Scunthorpe Town Centre.
South Kesteven District Council will discuss adopting the motion next week.
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The 32-year-old man and 30-year-old woman arrested in the murder probe of an 11-year-old boy in Lincoln have both been released on police bail, without any charges.
The man was arrested on suspicion of murder and the woman on suspicion of manslaughter after an incident at a house on Geneva Street on St Giles in Lincoln.
Police were called to the house at 10pm on Friday night, January 22.
The 11-year-old boy was found unwell at the scene and was taken to hospital for treatment.
He was pronounced dead a short time later.
At the time Lincolnshire Police said the death was unexplained and it was treated as murder.
The man and the woman arrested at the weekend were released on police bail on Monday evening.
Lincolnshire Police said in a statement on Monday night:
“Once again, we’d like to remind people that this is an active investigation and that an 11-year-old boy has sadly lost his life.
“Speculative comments are not only deeply upsetting to those involved but can potentially undermine our investigation.
“If you have any information that can help, call 101 or email [email protected] quoting incident 472 of January 22.”
Ten people from Boston have been given fines for breaching COVID-19 regulations by driving dangerously in supermarket car parks.
Officers were called after three separate reports of dangerous driving in the car parks of Lidl and Tesco in Wyberton Fen, as well as on Marsh Lane Industrial Estate in Boston.
All three incidents took place and were reported to police between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday, January 24, though it is unsure if they were connected at all.
When officers arrived, the drivers were seen doing donut manoeuvres and racing in the snow.
A total of 10 people were given £200 fines for breaking lockdown guidelines, but this will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days, due to all being first time offenders.
As well as the COVID-19 fines, two of the vehicles were also seized as a result of being uninsured, with drivers reported.
A traffic offence report was also submitted after one driver was seen to be driving not just dangerously but out of control.
Inspector Fran Harrod of Lincolnshire Police said: “We would like to thank the public for bringing these incidents of dangerous driving to our attention.
“This is not only extremely dangerous to those taking part but to others in these areas.
“While we continue to engage and explain with the public, this was a blatant breach of the restrictions which will not be tolerated.”