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U.S. delegation to attend 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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A delegation, representing President Donald Trump and the U.S. at ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German death camp in Auschwitz, will include close presidential associates and businessmen.

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick will lead the U.S. delegation at Monday’s ceremonies, the White House announced on Friday.

Daniel Lawton, the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Poland, and Ellen Germain, the U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues will be among them.

The commemorations, organized by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in southern Poland, are expected to draw around 3,000 attendees, including several dozen survivors of the camp.

Auschwitz, established by Nazi Germany in 1940 in occupied Poland, initially served as a prison for Poles. Auschwitz II-Birkenau, opened in 1942, became the primary site of the mass extermination of Jews during the Holocaust.

Over 1.1 million people, predominantly Jews, were murdered at the complex, which also included sub-camps.

Victims also included Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and others.

The Red Army liberated Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. The site was designated a national memorial in 1947, and January 27 is now observed internationally as Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The anniversary events aim to honor the memory of the victims.
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