Haining Jane

Haining, Jane Born in 1897, on a farm near Dunscore, Dumfriesshire, in Scotland, Jane Haining was appointed matron of the Girls’ Home of the Scottish Mission in Budapest, Hungary, in 1932. Haining liked Hungary and Budapest and soon became fluent in the language. She dedicated the remaining 12 years of her life to caring and teaching predominantly Jewish girls in the school next to the Girls’ Home. Responsible for 400 children from six to 16, she was loved and respected by the pupils as well as her colleagues who regarded her as the best matron they had ever known. By 1940, faced with the worsening war situation, the Scottish missionaries were ordered to return home, but Haining refused to leave, believing that her children needed her more than ever. In March 1944, the Nazis took possession of the country, and the Germans were in Budapest, ordering all Jews to wear a yellow-star badge. It was then that Jane Haining acted with great bravery, exposing herself to danger and deportation. On April 25, 1944, two Gestapo men appeared at the Mission and searched her office and gave her 15 minutes to get her things ready. She was taken first to Foutca prison, for questioning. Eight charges were laid against her, including working among Jews, visiting British prisoners of war and listening to the BBC. Haining was deported to Auschwitz where she became prisoner number 79467 and was forced into hard labor. Her last message to friends was a postcard asking for food. Her last words in that letter were: “ There is not much to report here on the way to heaven.” Haining died in Auschwitz, probably from starvation on July 17, 1944, at the age of 47. On January 27, 1997, Yad Vashem recognized Jane Haining as Righteous Among the Nations.