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Clement Attlee took in Jewish child refugee who fled Nazis, letters reveal

Paul Willer, now 90 and living in Gloucestershire, lived with the Labour politician for four months before the outbreak of war

November 20, 2018 15:37
Clement Attlee, Labour Prime Minister from 1945 until 1951
2 min read

Former Prime Minister Clement Attlee took in a Jewish child refugee who fled from the Nazis months before the Second World War, it has been revealed.

In 1939, Mr Attlee, then the leader of the opposition, sponsored a Jewish mother and her two children, allowing them to enter the UK once they had left Germany.

Testimony and letters have revealed that the Labour politician then invited one of the children into his home in Stanmore, North West London, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

Paul Willer, the former refugee, is now 90 and lives is Gloucestershire. He lived with Mr Attlee and his wife for four months when he was ten years old, just before the beginning of the war.