This Morning star Eva Speakman was left in tears after visiting Auschwitz, where her grandfather was once held captive during the Second World War
This Morning dedicated an entire morning to a special VE Day episode, commemorating 80 years since the conclusion of the Second World War.
Presented by Emma Willis and Ryan Clarke, the poignant broadcast took viewers outside for an ITV street party on Monday, 5th May, enduring chilly temperatures to celebrate with survivors who shared their extraordinary tales.
Emotions ran high when This Morning’s own Eva Speakman was brought to tears during her visit to Auschwitz, where her grandfather, George, had been a prisoner during World War II.
George managed to survive the horrors of Auschwitz, one of the few to do so, leaving behind harrowing accounts of his time in the camp which were passed down to granddaughter Eva.
In her quest to understand his ordeal, Eva went to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Archive, where the full impact of the grim history hit home as she saw personal items once belonging to inmates, reports Wales Online.
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Eva was especially moved by a display of numerous shoes encased in glass, each pair a stark reminder of the lives lost at the notorious death camp.
Fighting back tears, Eva remarked: “I think to see that there was a foot on a person in every single pair of shoes in this place.”
Overcome with emotion, she said: “Oh my God. All these shoes you can see are just from little ones who were probably just learning to walk and then they got that taken away from them.”
Visibly struggling to contain her tears, the author paid her respects in a gas chamber used to execute and torture victims in unimaginably cruel ways.
Reflecting on the experience, she remarked: “The horror of the atrocities committed here, the gratitude that my grandad survived and lived a fulfilled life and my appreciation to everyone who works so hard to preserve this camp as a reminder because this can never happen again.”
Viewers shared their emotional reactions as the segment concluded, with one Twitter user writing: “This is absolutely heartbreaking. We must never forget. #Auschwitz #ThisMorning.
“The shoes,” another tweeted poignantly, accompanied by a broken heart emoji. Echoing the sentiment, someone else posted: “@thismorning That was a very moving and sad video walking around Auschwitz.”
Others expressed their unexpected emotional response: “Didn’t expect to be crying this morning! Those poor poor souls. #ThisMorning.”
Another viewer commented similarly: “How must them poor souls felt f***ing hell unimaginal #thismorning.”
This morning airs weekdays on ITV1, from 10am.