UNISON Renfrewshire branch is celebrating the remarkable life of Jane Haining, a Scottish missionary who worked in Paisley and died at the Auschwitz concentration camp with a new short film Jane Haining: A Mission of Love, alongside the launch of educational resources for schools across Renfrewshire.
The film was launched at an event in Paisley in January organised by UNISON in partnership with Renfrewshire Council and the Church of Scotland, which brought together trade unionists, pupils, faith organisations and members of the local community.
They also announced that a commemorative mural will be installed at Brown’s Lane and Shuttle Street in the town.
The short film tells us that Jane worked at JP Coats Thread Mill in Ferguslie, Paisley, and as a missionary for the Church of Scotland in Hungary. She refused to abandon the Jewish girls in her care during the Nazi occupation and was arrested by the Gestapo. She died at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944.
UNISON runs an annual Auschwitz study tour, where delegates learn about her story and attend a memorial service near the block where she was imprisoned.