Holocaust Horror
Two moving Holocaust-related stories that inspire love for the Jewish people
As the world marked the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Tuesday, the BBC seems to have made a deliberate decision to downplay the utterly obvious – that the Holocaust was primarily about the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of approximately six million European Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Instead, at least four BBC News presenters opted to ignore the word ‘Jew’ altogether, saying only that six million 'people' died in the World War Two massacre. (They've since apologised.)
While other groups were also mercilessly targeted (gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally and physically disabled), the Holocaust indeed primarily centred on the elimination of Jews from Europe – as the following stories ably illustrate.
Stuttgart, January 24, 2026 – The grandson of the Auschwitz commandant who headed up the notorious concentration camp where more than a million Jews were murdered is now a church pastor with a great love for the Jewish people.1 Pastor of the Bible Church of Stuttgart in Germany, Kai Hös recently shared his story on YouTube’s Facing the Canon hosted by evangelist J John.
Guilt and shame
He did not grow up in a Christian home and knew nothing of his grandfather Rudolf until he was a teenager. But the discovery left him with “a very strong sense of shame”. He explained that though his countrymen recognised the Nazi era was bad, it was generally regarded as water under the bridge and no-one ever talked about it.
... it was generally regarded as water under the bridge and no-one ever talked about it.
However, Holocaust education in school was mandatory and he soon joined the dots, realising with horror that his own family had contributed to the slaughter of six million Jewish people. But he got on with life and made a success of hotel management until, in Singapore, he fell ill and ended up in intensive care after an operation went wrong. Struggling with depression and pain, he found a Gideon Bible in the cabinet beside his bed and began reading it.
“And Psalm 51 hit me right between the eyes. King David had just committed the most atrocious sin (of adultery and murder) and breaks down before God, asking forgiveness. Was I so different? I realised I probably would have been capable of the same great evil (as his grandfather).”
Sharing God’s love
He duly recovered and later, in a Singapore hotel, got into conversation with a lovely Christian couple who kept coming back and eventually invited him to church.
I want to serve a purpose in his redemptive economy.
Finally, over Easter 1989, he committed his life to Jesus, which has given him the opportunity and platform to give something back to God’s chosen people. “I consider myself a Gentile saved by Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew). Our Creator allowed the creatures he made to nail him to the cross. And yet, 
as the hymn says, his amazing grace has saved a wretch like me! And I want to serve a purpose in his redemptive economy.”
As part of this, Kai has since shared something of God’s love for the many Holocaust survivors he has met. “It’s always a very humbling experience, and I just want to give them a hug. It’s heartbreaking.” One man who lost his entire family at Auschwitz came up to embrace him, saying: “I love you and I forgive you.” And in London he met an elderly lady still with a camp tattoo on her arm who remembered his grandfather. “I felt joy that God had enabled me to show her love in this way.”
As J John himself put it, “We cannot alter the past, but we can bring the past to the altar of God.”
-------------------------
Eva’s Hell on Earth!
Another recent Holocaust-themed story relates to a front-page story in the Daily Express this week featuring Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke beside the banner headline, ‘NOW STOP THE HATE’.
Lucky survival
As one of the youngest survivors, 80-year-old Eva weighed just 3lb when her skeletal mother gave birth to her on a coal cart at the gates of Mauthausen concentration camp.
Fifteen members of her family were slaughtered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, including her father – shot just a week before it was liberated. But Eva’s survival was miraculous. When her Czech-Jewish mother Anka initially arrived at Auschwitz, she was met by ‘Angel of Death’ Josef Mengele, demanding to know if she was pregnant. Had she admitted it, she would have been sent to the gas chamber.
She was thus deemed fit for work elsewhere, eventually arriving at Mauthausen in Austria. She was so shocked to see the name of the death camp that she went into labour. And Eva was born on April 29th, 1945, a day after the Nazis 
ran out of gas to run their killing machine and just days before US troops liberated the site.
Eva has since put her horror story to good use, educating the public about this dark history for which she received the British Empire Medal in 2019. Such education, she contends, is the only answer to the ongoing hatred.
Sleepwalking into disaster
However, polls now show that people holding what are considered to be entrenched antisemitic views make up more than a fifth of the population (over 12 million)! And almost half (45%) believe that Israel treats Palestinians the same way as Nazis treated Jews. And, again, almost a fifth consider the October 7th, 2023, massacre of Israelis justified.
Such education, she contends, is the only answer to the ongoing hatred.
In Parliament on Monday, former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Pickles warned that Britain is “sleepwalking into disaster” with the rise of antisemitism.
You would think having a Holocaust Memorial Centre prominently placed in our capital, a project given the green light over ten years ago, could help reverse this trend. But it has been plagued by repeated delays no doubt in part due to fears of upsetting the growing Islamic population. As to the Holocaust Memorial Day itself, the number of secondary schools marking the event has more than halved.
Do not fear
Fear of standing up to the truth in the face of belligerent activists calling for Jewish blood, both among the general public and the Church, is crippling our society.
“Do not fear” is a word of comfort from God himself recorded countless times in the Bible. So why are we Christians fearful? It’s time to put on the armour of Holy Spirit strength God has given us, and stand foursquare with our Jewish brothers and sisters, to whom we owe so much.
As to the Holocaust Memorial Day itself, the number of secondary schools marking the event has more than halved.
The best thing we can do for our Jewish friends is show them the love which has been poured into our hearts by their very own Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus). It may well provoke them to discover the secret of our faith. (Rom 11:11)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11)
“So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,” declares the Lord… “Jacob will again have peace and security, and no-one will make him afraid.” (Jer 30:10)
Endnotes
-
Rudolf Höss was tried and sentenced to death by the Polish Supreme National Tribunal and hanged on April 16, 1947.
Charles Gardner, 29/01/2026