She was a farm girl born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, just near the border with England. Jane Haining grew up simply on the farm, but as she grew into womanhood, a desire to serve her fellow man took root and flourished. She joined the Scottish Missionary Society, and in 1932, she was appointed Matron of the Girls’ Home of the Scottish Mission in Budapest, Hungary. She made the arduous journey of 1,468 miles and soon found herself in love with her new home and her 400 girls! The next eight years flew by, filled with the love and respect of her young charges and doubtless untold challenges.
Everything changed in 1940 as the Nazi specter grew larger and larger across Europe. The Missionary Society ordered all Scottish missionaries to return home, but Jane refused, unwilling to leave her girls without her protection. In March of 1944, the Germans took over Hungary, and it was just a month later, in April, that the Gestapo appeared at the mission, searched Jane’s office and arrested her for working with Jews. She suffered the grueling 317 mile journey to Auschwitz, where she was soon forced into hard labor. Jane Haining, prisoner #79467, died from starvation on July 17, 1944. In her last letter she wrote, "There is not much to report here on the way to heaven."
Jane was honored as Righteous Among Nations in 1997.
