WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

Early day motion 1543, tabled 12 May 2008 by Andrew Dismore (Labour). Signed by 67 members.

That this House notes that 2008 is the 65th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a revolt by people without any resources or hope of victory against the Nazi machine; further notes that the insurgents were killed with great cruelty; recognises that the uprising was a desperate expression of the will to live, and of the hope for a future against all the odds; recalls that during the 27 days it lasted, starting on the eve of Passover, 1943, thousands of Jews who remained in the ghetto took on the Nazis, and these inexperienced, weak, defenceless people fought for almost a month against a force 1,000 times superior; acknowledges that the uprising was the first revolt of a civilian urban population in Nazi-occupied Europe, and, although the insurgents were defeated in the end, their bravery and their heroism are an inspiration; and accordingly salutes the memory of the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Signatures by party: Labour 38, Liberal Democrat 11, Conservative 8, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Independent 2, DUP 1, Plaid Cymru 1, Respect 1, Scottish National Party 1, UKIP 1.