Turning Nazi V2 Rocket sites into Wild Flowers Memorial

 

Many thanks to Cllr Asser, Cabinet member for Environment, for getting the impact site of a West Ham ward Nazi V2 Rocket attack on 1 Feb 1945, turned into a beautiful wild flowers memorial. 29 Residents were killed that night and many more injured. 

Every time I go past this site (Now called Marriot Road after a local Firefighter also killed in that war by enemy action) I now think of similar attacks by our modern day Nazi, Vladimir Putin,on the people of Ukraine. 

West Ham Labour canvass & remembering V2 Nazi Rocket attack (Solidarity with Ukraine)

 

Yesterday I helped organise a Labour campaign session in the ward that I represent as a Councillor in Newham, West Ham with my colleague Cllr John Whitworth. It was great that we had a number of Party  members joining us including Plastow Councillor, John Morris, (so there was 3 John's on the team) local party members and also Jordan, a UNISON Labour Link activist from Camden.

During the canvass we stopped off to honour (see picture) the roundabout in what is now called Marriott Road, which I believe is the impact site of a German Nazi V2 Rocket attack on 1 Feb 1945. 

See an account of the carnage at this site below:-

"In the early hours of 1st February 1945 at 3:03 am, Hitler’s last weapon of terror, a V-2 Rocket, left a trail of death and destruction on the sleeping street. An unmanned, guided, ballistic missile that had a maximum speed of 3440 mph, flying at an altitude of 52-60 miles, and carrying a warhead of 2150lbs of high explosives dropped without warning onto the sleeping Barnby Street, at up to four times the speed of sound. The ultra-high-speed descent meant that no sound was heard by those about to be hit. The effects of the resulting explosion were catastrophic, the explosion and subsequent sonic boom were heard all over London.

On that cold winters night, in just a few short seconds 29 people lost their lives and 15 others were seriously injured. Houses were totally destroyed and the surrounding streets were severely bomb blasted". 

A local resident told us that when she moved into her home right next to the roundabout she was told by the housing officer that this was the site of a mass grave of the dead. I told her that I didn't think that this was strictly accurate. 

Marriott Road is also named after a local firefighter who was killed during the blitz. We must do something to remember him and the dead 29 civilians by the next anniversary on 1 Feb 2023. 

After the canvass we went for coffee (and brunch for some) in the Sawmill cafe in West Ham Lane, which is run by a local Ukrainian family. While enjoying my brunch, I will admit that I felt what happened to Eastenders in 1945 must be similar to the experience of so many Ukrainians in 2022. 

Both victims of vile Nazi aggression. That picture of devastation and death in the collage is the same as so many modern day pictures in Ukraine. 

Solidarity to Ukraine in their fight against Putin fascism!

Is Putin going to launch his own false flag “Operation Himmler”?

In 1939 we had a murderous dictatorship massing troops near the boarder of a independent sovereign country, Poland, which it wanted to take over and rule. In order to try and justify an invasion, Nazi Germany, carried out a secret raid on one of its own radio mast facilities in order to justify war. This operation was led by Hitler's’ right hand man, Himmler. 

It is pretty clear that Putin is thinking of using the same tactics against Ukraine. We cannot let this happen. We know what happens if we appease murderous dictators. 

UPDATE - Check out this BBC report on "false flags"
 

Holocaust Memorial Day 2021: Be the light in the darkness

This morning I attended Newham Council's virtual event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. There was a very moving testimony by Holocaust survivors, Ann and Bob Kirk BEM. They described their separate childhood experiences of the pre war Nazi terror on Jews living in Germany and their life on the run after the Kristallnacht pogrom.

Both of them as children were able to flee to Britain via the famous Kindertransport network. They were both waved off by their parents at railways stations with them saying they will follow them soon. However, both sets of parents were murdered during the holocaust and they never saw them again.

Bob's father had even been wounded several times and decorated with the Iron Cross as a hero of the German Army during the First World War yet he was still killed by the Nazi's.

In the UK after the War, Ann and Bob, met up as adults and eventually married and led successful lives bringing up their sons.

I had to leave early for another meeting but I doubt I will ever forget this simple, quiet yet powerful testimony of genocide by Ann and Bob.

Black History Month - Noorunissa Inayat Khan - Wartime British Secret Agent Murdered by the Nazi

Before she joined the SOE as a secret agent and was sent to occupied France, she worked with the mother of one of my branch UNISON stewards in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force as a Battle of Britain wireless operator

Never forget.

This brave woman volunteered to risk her life and ended up being horribly murdered by the Nazi. 

UNISON London Regional Council: Speakers on Camden Parking Strike; Rise of the New Far Right & Legal measures to fight mental health discrimination at work

I was little late turning up to the Greater London UNISON Regional Council on Thursday, so missed the guest speakers from Camden UNISON on their dispute with Parking Contractors NSL on poverty pay (see UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, on their picket line). 

However, I did hear a speaker from Hope Not Hate give a thought provoking and deeply disturbing analysis of the rise of a new poplar far right front and neo-Nazi terrorism in the UK (and beyond).  

On the one hand membership of British Nazi and Fascist parties such as the BNP has collapsed but we are now seeing the largest numbers of people in decades on the streets supporting campaigns led by new far right groups. 

The thug and serial convicted criminal ,Tommy Robertson, has a huge social media presence, far in excess of any anti-fascist group. 

The speaker correctly pointed out that we cannot fight modern day fascism with the tactics of the 1980s and simply screaming "NAZI" at people attending marches since they are genuinely angry at the Manchester bombing, is not going to do anything positive. 

We have to work out how to defeat this new social network of individuals, who do not belong to traditional far right political parties but are being radicalised by Nazi websites, here and abroad. 

Going on anti Nazi demos and protests are tactics and not a means to an end. We need to get a better and more effective modern message to counter this threat. 

Final speaker was Ann-Marie Christie from Thompsons solicitors, who since this was World Mental Health day, gave a  practical update on possible employment law and personal injury measures that union reps could use to protect members at work. 

Holocaust Survivor Mala Tribich MBE

I attended the Newham Holocaust Memorial Day 2018. Concentration camp survivor Mala Tribich, who lost her mother, father and sister gave a compelling account of Nazi murder, inhumanity and cruelty.

This is what happens if you do not stand up for democracy, tolerance, respect and freedom.

The theme this year is "The power of words". So true.

Muslim, Hindu & Sikh Spitfire Pilots defended Britain from the Nazis..It's their Poppy too!

100% agree. As well as the West Indian, Africans, South Asian and other Empire and Commonwealth heroes who saved us from German conquest in the First and also the Second World War.  

Holocaust Memorial Day - Newham 2017

On Friday I attended a very moving event to mark "Holocaust Memorial Day" which remembers the attempt by German Nazi to murder all Jews in Europe and all subsequent holocausts in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and now Syria.

The wonderful guest speaker this year was the childhood survivor of 5 Nazi concentration camps, 90 year old Harry Olmer. I had tears in my eyes for much of Harry's speech. I also really appreciated the the wonderful moving music, songs and poetry of local Newham school children.

Democracy, free speech, decency, tolerance and respect for differences is so important and worth fighting for. Harry stood next to a man in a concentration camp who was shot dead by a Nazi for no reason other than that they were both Jews. He does not know why he survived and so many did not.

See Newham Council Press release below:-

"The victims of the Holocaust and other genocides across the world were remembered at a special event today (Friday 27 January) attended by Mayor Sir Robin Wales, and Holocaust survivor Harry Olmer. More than 400 people including schoolchildren and local residents attended Newham Council’s annual event at the Old Town Hall, Stratford, to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Candles were lit, a minute’s silence held and there was also a performance by Newham’s Every Child a Musician Orchestra. 

As part of the event, 90-year-old Harry Olmer outlined his memories of the Nazi persecution of the Jews during the Holocaust and shared his experiences which included surviving five concentration camps – including Plaszow near Krakow which later became famous in the movie Schindler’s List. He was also forced to work in a munitions factory filling shells with explosives and last saw his mother and sisters after he, his brother and father were separated from them in 1942.

Harry, who was one of six children, was born in Sonsowiec, Poland, in 1927. He told those at today’s event that one of his earliest memories of the war was from 1942 when 650 people were taken to a wood and shot. He said: “I was in a truck with a lot of other people and could hear the shooting. We had a woman who started screaming, so they stopped the truck and shot her. They separated all the women and children, and they were put on wagons and taken away. That was the last time I saw my mother and my sisters. The trains took all the women and I did not have time to say goodbye.” Harry, a retired dentist, is now one of a handful of Holocaust survivors who visit schools to tell their stories. 

He said: “People say it can’t happen again but it did, in Cambodia, in Europe, Serbia and now, as we are seeing, in Syria with Aleppo. That is why I talk to the schoolchildren, so they can hear the story. It is my story, it is a living history.” Harry also took part in a question and answer session and received a standing ovation after his talk. The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day 2017 was How can life go on? with candles lit at the event in memory of those who lost their lives during the Holocaust and other genocides".

Holocaust Memorial Day - Old Town Hall, Stratford

Yesterday I went to a Holocaust Memorial Day, ceremony organised by Newham Council which took place in the Old Town Hall in Stratford, E15. 

The hall was packed with residents and pupils from local schools. 

It began with a choir singing a specially composed song by Craig Murdoch, performed by ECaM stars and orchestra called "Remember me".

The Newham Chief Executive Officer, Kim Bromley-Derry welcomed the audience. The Mayor, Robin Wales, spoke next on the Holocaust and its relevance to Newham. He described us gathering here today as an act of defiance against fascism and that personal stories remind us that real people lie behind the figures. Many countries including Britain during the Second World War did not do enough for refugees fleeing the Nazi's. We must never forget this when we think about refugees who are fleeing persecution today. Nor should we forget the contribution that modern day refugees have made to Newham.

The testimony was by death camp survivor, 83 year old Rudi Oppenheimer. Rudi was born in 1931 to a German Jewish family in Berlin. They were not religious and lived a comfortable middle class life and were proud to be German. 

As a young child Rudi was unaware of the political persecution of Jews in German by the Nazi Government. His father eventually moved to Holland while the rest of the family went to London where his sister was born. They all later joined their father in Holland thinking they would be safe. 

In May 1940 Germany was at war with Britain and France and they invaded Holland and quickly overran the country. Soon after this the Germans began to persecute the Jews in Holland.  

The discrimination that Rudi and his family suffered at the hands of the Nazi in Holland, was in one way, even more shocking than being sent to a death camp.  In a series of laws they were forbidden from working, using public transport, from going to sport clubs, libraries, theatre, non Jewish shops and they had to wear yellow stars on their clothes at all times. Rudi even had his bicycle taken away from him. Once the Nazi had got away with de-humanising Jews, then it is no surprise that they ended up murdering them.

All Jews in Holland were forced to live together in Amsterdam under a strict curfew. Ironically, Rudi thinks that as a child he may have played in the same street as Anne Franks. She was to eventually die in the same death camp that he and his family was to end up in.

Eventually after waiting weeks for the "knock on the door" they were told by German Police to leave their homes for "Resettlement to the East". They were sent by train to a transit camp. Unbeknown to the family, both sets of Grandparents were sent to death camps and gassed when they arrived.

Rudi believes that one of the reasons why he survived, when so many didn't, was that his sister was born in Britain and the Germans thought the family could be exchanged for German nationals held in Britain. They were known as "Exchange Jews".  After 7 months in the transit camp they were still sent to the infamous Bergen Belsen death camp. They were greeted by shouting SS Guards, barking dogs, sadist commandants, heavy labour and a starvation diet.

At the camp both his parent died of brutality and disease but he and his brother was able to live, thanks to Rudi working in the camp kitchen and stealing food. He always felt guilty about this since he was in effect stealing food from other inmates but he and his brother would have not survived otherwise. 

Belsen was the camp where there was so many dead bodies when the British freed it in 1945 they had no choice but to use bulldozers to push the bodies into huge pits. Some 70,000 people died there. 

After a series of near misses, Rudi, his brother Paul and sister Eva were liberated and eventually arrived in London to live with their Uncle.  Rudi had a successful career with oil company BP. Paul wrote a book about their life called "From Belsen to Buckingham Place". 

In the Q&A that followed Rudi was asked if he "forgave" those who were responsible for what happened to him? He said he did not forgive but he doesn't hate them anymore. The only people who could forgive are his parents since they were the  ones who had really suffered.  He did however believe in God.

Next there was modern dance performance by pupils of Lister Community school and then readings by pupils from Kensington Primary school and Kingsford Community school including "First they came..." by Paster Martin Niemoller

" First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
  Because I was not a Socialist.
  Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
  Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
  Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
  Because I was not a Jew.
  Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me".

Followed by a Candle lighting ceremony led by the Mayor, David Gold (Chair of West Ham FC), Lyn Brown MP (see photo), John Biggs AM, John Barber (Representative Deputy Lieutenant) and Rudi.

Finally, a minute of quiet reflection and then classical music from local tutors.

Afterwards, there were some tears from some while others in the hall were talking to each other and  sharing stories and even photos of their own relatives. There was a massive queue to buy signed copies of "From Belsen to Buckingham Place" and Rudi sold all his copies. I will get one from the website.

It was quite an emotional event and it is not just about the history.  As Rudi reminded us since the Second World war there has been other holocausts in Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnian. Not only should we never forget what happened but we must always be on guard against intolerance, bigotry and fascism in all its guises.

Remember "Britain First" is a Nazi front

Just a gentle reminder that this is the time of year that the fascist organisation currently known as "Britain First" shares seemingly patriotic posts on Facebook and twitter which appear to be in support of British troops and our Remembrance Sunday.

Please do not share these posts. A number of people have been taken in. So called "Britain First" is a fascist and Nazi organisation formed after a split in the racist BNP. 

Remember that the fascists in this Country supported Hitler during the second world war and wanted the Nazi to win who would have turned Britain into a concentration camp. 

So it is completely hypocritical of them to pretend that they are in anyway a "patriotic" party supporting our military veterans.  

The only "veterans" they will support are Nazi SS murderers of brave British commandos and prison of war escapees who were tortured and then shot in cold blood in World War two. 

Check out what a genuine British combat veteran thinks of "Britain First". 

(picture of recruiting poster for British Nazi's during World War 2)

Searchlight on History repeats itself: 1942 SS - 2014 IS

This is the latest front cover of the long standing anti-fascist and anti-racist magazine "Searchlight".

I think we all know what it shows and compares. 

Tonight we heard of yet another cowardly murder of a journalist, Steven Sotloff.

Searchlight is absolutely right to compare the butchers of the Islamic state with that of the Nazi SS.

They are all the same - fascist scum and we need to stop them.

The IS are no more Muslims than the German SS concentration camp guards were Christians - they are all just fanatics and common murderers.

In Britain recently a number of respected Islamic scholars have declared IS a "heretical” and “an oppressive and tyrannical group... and religiously prohibited to support or join”. 

In view of the Nazi slaughter that happened in the lifetime of my father and mother, I don't think that those of us who are not Muslims have any cause to be complacent or smug.

Royal Mail honour SOE Hero Noor Lanayat Khan 1914-1944

The Royal Mail have issued a new set of first class stamps on 10 "Remarkable Lives" who were born in 1914.

"The British-Indian secret agent, who served during World War Two, was dubbed the "Spy Princess". She was imprisoned, tortured and eventually shot after being sent into occupied France to help the resistance".

Noor was a descendent of Tipu Sultan, King of Mysore, one of the most dangerous opponents of British rule in India and like him a supporter of Indian Independence.

Despite being brought up as a pacifist, while training as a nurse in the second world war she felt that she was not doing enough "to fight the evil of Nazi" and joined the British forces.

She volunteered for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and was sent to occupied France to help the Resistance fight the Nazi.  She is captured by the Germans and sent to the concentration camp at Dachau where she was murdered with 3 other female SOE agents. Her last words before being shot was "Liberte" - "Freedom!"

Hat tip Shiraz Socialist. 

Update: fascinating comments on Facebook on this post from one of our top UNISON stewards whose Mum served with "Norah" before she left for the SOE.  They possibly trained as radio operators together. Her Mum later went on to win a "Mention in Dispatches" for her work during D Day.

Is the Daily Mail "Sorry" it backed the Nazi?

Superb cartoon in Guardian by Steve Bell. A response to the deliberate Tory smear attacks on Harriet Harman.Hat tip Ravi.

Check out this : -
(Daily Mail owner) Lord Rothermere was a friend of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, and directed the Mail's editorial stance towards them in the early 1930s.^[34][35] Rothermere's 1933 leader "Youth Triumphant" praised the new Nazi regime's accomplishments, and was subsequently used as propaganda by them.^[36] In it, Rothermere predicted that "The minor misdeeds of individual Nazis would be submerged by the immense benefits the new regime is already bestowing upon Germany". Journalist John Simpson, in a book on journalism, suggested that Rothermere was referring to the violence against Jews and Communists rather than the detention of political prisoners.^[37]
Rothermere and the Mail were also editorially sympathetic to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists.^[38] Rothermere wrote an article entitled "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" in January 1934, praising Mosley for his "sound, commonsense, Conservative doctrine",^[39] and pointing out that: "Young men may join the British Union of Fascists by writing to the Headquarters, King's Road, Chelsea, London, S.W."^[40]

Holocaust Memorial Day

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day which is held on the anniversary of the liberation by Soviet Troops in 1945 of  the Auschwitz concentration camp.

This morning the new Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis spoke on "Thought for the Day" (Radio 4 "Today" programme) about his Great Uncle, head of a Jewish seminary in Lithuania who while trying to arrange an escape route for his family and students from advancing German forces became separated. He only found out at the end of the second world war that his students, staff, his wife and their 10 children were all murdered by the Nazi.  A shocking story.

We must never forget the unique evil of all forms of fascism.

West Ham Labour Doorstep - Aileen Walk 2014

Busy political Saturday. In the morning I went out with West Ham Ward Labour team, door knocking in the Aileen Walk area next to the park.

Picked up quite a bit of case work about street cleaning, estate lighting, pot holes and uneven pavements.

When I go door knocking it is always a little strange to see swastika on peoples homes (see picture top right). I remember many years ago being stunned when I first saw this and when I knocked on the door, I expected some tattooed Far right Nazi to open it and was amazed that it was an Asian family! I now know that the Swastika was an ancient symbol of  "wealth, prosperity and auspiciousness" which was nicked by the German Nazi for their own vile use.

After a short break we then went off to Canning Town North ward for a Super Saturday with our MP Lyn Brown.

Hat tip pictures Seyi

What have the Unions ever done for the Labour Party?

I will be attending the special Labour Party Constitution Conference on 1 March as a delegate of an affiliated Trade Union.

While I don't think that unions are perfect nor that we should be scared of any debate about our role or influence on the Party. I do wonder why there is such a negative image about the relationship between the Labour Party and the trade unions?

It makes me think - what exactly have the (affiliated) trade unions ever done for the Labour Party?

Well, apart from the bleeding obvious (trade unions formed the Party, supply most of its money and many of its leaders and activists) the union block vote has also saved the Party from destruction on a number of occasions in its history.

Rows about the union role in the Party are as old as the Party itself. The trade union candidate for Leader of the Party, John Robert Clynes, was defeated as far back as 1922 by the non trade union candidate Ramsay MacDonald (and we all know what happened to him!)

In 1935 at its Conference, the unions saved the Party (and maybe the Country?) by voting against pacifism and in favour of the UK rearming against Nazi and fascist aggression. The Party Leader at the time was a local hero of mine, George Lansbury, who was a true London east end principled socialist. However, he also unfortunately believed that the way to deal with the Nazi threat was to try and convert Adolf Hitler to Christianity. The unions thought otherwise.

t Ermin’s Group

In 1983 the Labour Party Conference upheld the decision of the National Executive Committee to expel from membership the leadership of the ultra left entryists, Militant Tendency. Two thirds of constituency delegates voted against the expulsions but the unions cast their block votes in a card vote and kicked them out.

While not denying there has been own goals (1978/9) I could go on and on about what the unions have done for the Party. The union influence in the Labour Party is its anchor to working people and while this relationship will evolve and change, we meddle with it at our peril. 

I hope and expect that the unions and the Party will come to an agreement about the latest development in our common future and we can put this matter to bed. We can then all concentrate on the real enemy and get rid of this vile right wing Tory Coalition Government. .

Personal views as always. Check out my favourite video on what the unions has ever done for all of us.

Former soldier warns against supporting Far Right Fascist "Britain First"

Labour Ipswich Councillor, Alasdair Ross, who spent over 24 years in the Royal Green Jackets, serving his country in Northern Ireland, Bosnia,  Kosovo and finally in with The Rifles in Sangin, Afghanistan warns us here about the nasty fascist so called "Britain First" front. Who are tricking the public to support them and using photographs of dead British servicemen funerals to raise funds.

I agree with Alasdair that these people are just fascists who shame our country and our war dead. Both my grandfathers fought in the Second World War. We lost hundreds of thousands of British military and civilians in combat and in the Blitz while fighting against the Nazi and their ilk.

"Britain First" is one of the many splits that have resulted from the welcome demise of the racist BNP. They are an extremist "hate group"- nothing more and nothing less.

(picture of German Bomber flying over the Isle of Dogs)

Ordinary women

"Most shocking of all are the accounts of the women who killed. One of Lower's subjects, a secretary-turned-SS-mistress, had the "nasty habit", as one eyewitness put it, of killing Jewish children in the ghetto, whom she would lure with the promise of sweets before shooting them in the mouth with a pistol. Lower presents another chilling example: that of an SS officer's wife in occupied Poland who discovered a group of six Jewish children who had escaped from a death-camp transport. A mother, she took them home, fed and cared for them, then led them out into the forest and shot each one in the back of the head".

 http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2013/10/ordinary-women.html

Am I the only one to feel physically sick at this account? Not that the SS men did not shame themselves equally.

What did you do to fight the Nazi?

Meet with Hitler or man a destroyer during the Normandy Landings?