Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
News

Holocaust survivor warns against history repeating itself

Hédi Fried says we must 'never got used to injustice'

Holocaust survivor Hédi Fried believes it’s important to share her harrowing tale so that the current generation can ensure such a thing never happens again.

Fried was 19 when she arrived at Auschwitz from Hungary. Shortly afterwards she said goodbye to her parents for the last time.

Now 94, she channels her extraordinary philosophy into Holocaust awareness by visiting schools in her adopted home of Sweden. 

She said: “One of the lessons from the Holocaust is this: never get used to injustice. An injustice is like a grain of sand in your hand; on its own, its weight may seem insignificant, but injustices have a tendency to multiply, they soon become so heavy that you can no longer bear them.

 “There are still a few eyewitnesses who can speak about their own experiences. Soon, there will be no eyewitnesses left, and in order to try to prevent these horrors from happening again, our stories must be passed on.

“We already have a nominated day of remembrance, January 27. I hope that this becomes a long-lived tradition, through which new generations can pass on the story and tell it in a way that reaches their listeners’ hearts.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Read more from Fried in this week’s copy of The Big Issue, on sale now.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

There’s more than one way to make a difference

Big Issue vendors need you more than ever this Christmas.

Recommended for you

View all
Sophie Morgan: 'As a child I marched in favour of fox hunting. As an adult I'd never support it'
Sophie Morgan, writer, broadcaster and disability advocate.
PM For The PM

Sophie Morgan: 'As a child I marched in favour of fox hunting. As an adult I'd never support it'

A bit of Beethoven can ensure we’re not deaf to the dangers of falling into poverty 
An 1820 portrait of Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler
John Bird

A bit of Beethoven can ensure we’re not deaf to the dangers of falling into poverty 

The Renters' Rights Act made it illegal to reject tenants on benefits. But it's still happening
Members of ACORN Leeds community union protesting discrimination against tenants in receipt of welfare benefits
Renting

The Renters' Rights Act made it illegal to reject tenants on benefits. But it's still happening

Tory plans to slash benefits for disabled kids will take UK back to 'dark ages', campaigners warn
Kemi Badenoch
Benefits

Tory plans to slash benefits for disabled kids will take UK back to 'dark ages', campaigners warn