Death camp survivors call Mayor 'a bigot'

Gena Turgel - who saw her family wiped out in the Holocaust - could not believe her ears. She had come to City Hall hoping to hear Mayor Ken Livingstone apologise for comparing an Evening Standard reporter to a "concentration camp guard".

She felt the comments not only offended her, but as a survivor of the Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Belsen-Bergen death camps she felt they had belittled the suffering of all Jews at the hands of the Nazis.

Sitting in the public gallery, she hoped Mr Livingstone would carefully reconsider his choice of words. Instead she heard the Mayor complain that he and his family had been harrassed by journalists for the past 24 years

"I am shocked," she said." There is no comparing what his family have suffered with what we have suffered."

Next to her, Czech-born Josef Perl, 74, could barely contain his anger. By a miracle he had survived eight Nazi concentration camps. Many of his relatives were not so lucky.

He too had come to City Hall hoping the Mayor would show some understanding of what hurt is caused by making flippant comparisons between contemporary events and one of the greatest crimes against humanity history has seen.

But instead he listened stunned as the Mayor declared "what I said I stand by". Mr Perl said: "He is not worthy of having the position he has got. The Mayor is a bigoted, insensitive person."

The pensioner had spent 45 minutes waiting patiently for the Mayor to make an appearance. He, Ms Turgel and fellow survivor Roman Halter, 77, had listened intently as politicians from all sides of the London Assembly condemned Mr Livingstone's outburst outside a party held to honour Chris Smith's decision 20

years ago to brave public prejudice and come out as a gay MP.

They had thought Mr Livingstone might take on board the unanimous views of the assembly and retract his remarks. Perhaps he would even approach them to make a personal gesture of contrition.

Instead he refused to approach them or even look in their direction.

All three spend time talking to schoolchildren and anyone who will listen about the horrors of the Holocaust in the hope that through education a repeat of one of history's darkest chapters can be avoided.

"I don't want to be pitied but we want our feelings understood," said Ms Turgel. "I am shocked at the Mayor's behaviour today."

They had come hoping the Mayor would recognise their pain, but left in quiet disgust.