David Mundell has praised the life and work of Dunscore's Jane Haining in his capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland.
His comments come ahead of a new exhibition to mark Jane's life at the Holocaust Memorial Centre opening on Wednesday evening in Budapest.
Jane Haining was a Scottish schoolteacher, from Dunscore, and a Church of Scotland Missionary who gave her life to protect the Jewish schoolgirls in her care at the Scottish Mission school in Budapest, of which she was matron.
After refusing to leave, she was arrested by the Gestapo following the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, charged with working with Jews and died in Auschwitz in 1944.
Commenting David Mundell said: “When we reflect on one of the darkest times in human history, it is the unimaginable courage of individuals like Jane Haining – a schoolteacher from Dunscore – that provides us with hope and a belief in the compassion of others.
"Her dedication to her pupils was unwavering. After repeatedly refusing to leave Hungary, she wrote ‘if these children need me in days of sunshine, how much more do they need me in days of darkness?’ In doing so, she gave her life to protect others from an evil that we can never allow to resurface.
“Her words and actions embody a selflessness and sacrifice that we should never forget. I am delighted that this new exhibition will not only remember her extraordinary bravery, but that her story can serve to educate and inspire others.”