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Yorkshire's Unsung Holocaust Hero

(Telegraph-UK) Rosa Silverman - During the 1930s, Leeds tailor David Makofski became aware of the peril that threatened Jews on the continent. He was the son of Latvian refugees, fiercely proud to be British, and had fought for his country in the First World War. "He saw really early on what was happening," says Diane Mckaye, Makofski's granddaughter. He became chairman of the Leeds Jewish Refugees Committee and devise a rescue mission by establishing a trainee scheme that opened the door to several hundred young men. Under this program, Jewish men below the age of 35 would be found positions as trainees by employers in and around Leeds. It's estimated Makofski and his associates saved the lives of over 200 Jewish men between 1938 and 1939, at which point escape was no longer a possibility. Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, says: "The lengths he went to in order to help Jewish people, culminating in hundreds of lives saved, is extraordinary. As a result, thousands of descendants including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now able to tell this important tale."
2023-08-10 00:00:00
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