Child abuse victim recalls how he was subjected to “kill the Jew-boy” chants at residential school

A Jewish man has revealed to the JC how he was subjected to antisemitic abuse by a pastor at a residential school.

Mike Bralowski said that during the mid-1950s, he spent this time in Essex’s Hutton Residential School “terrified” after regularly being subjected to “kill the Jew-boy” chants from staff and students.

He was also subjected to beatings by the headteacher, who reportedly told him that he was a “worthless Jew”. 

Mr Bralowski, who was the only Jewish child in his house, described the racial abuse as “frightening”.

“On Sundays, we all had to attend church on school grounds where Pastor North was in charge,” he said. “At Easter he made me stand in front of the congregation and admit that I was personally responsible for the death of Jesus, which earned me yet another bad beating and another night of absolute terror as the chants went on and on.

“Other students and staff including Pastor North also subjected me to extensive sexual abuse. I eventually ran away back to my parents but they phoned the school, demanding they take me back.”

In 2020, when Mr Bralowski would report the abuse to Islington Council, which referred him to the school as a child, he was told that he was ineligible for the council’s scheme which compensates people who survived abuse between 1966 and 1995, owing to the fact that he attended the school prior to that period, a move that was labelled “unjust” by Islington Survivors Network. 

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Chelmsford said: “We looked into this case and offered support when the issue was raised with us in 2019. The priest concerned, now deceased, was employed by the local authority to run Hutton Residential School, and we provided details of a survivor network which includes a redress scheme for survivors of abuse at this school.”

However, according to the spokesperson, “The priest concerned never held a Church of England appointment in the Diocese of Chelmsford or any authority from the Bishop of Chelmsford to exercise ministry in the Diocese.

“We are aware of the courage it takes for survivors of abuse to come forward and share their story. The cases of abuse perpetrated by clergy and others in the Church of England over many years are a cause of great shame and we are committed to supporting anyone who has suffered abuse.”

A spokesperson for the council said: “We’re deeply sorry for the council’s past failure to protect vulnerable children in its children’s homes, which was the worst chapter in this council’s history.”