A handful of Holocaust survivors have returned to Auschwitz as the world marks the 80th anniversary of the Nazi concentration camp’s liberation.
Around 50 elderly former prisoners are set to take center stage in a major commemoration service on Monday afternoon, in what is likely to be one of the last such gatherings.
They will be joined by representatives from 60 countries and international organizations, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Estimates say that Nazi Germany murdered over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, located near the town of Oświęcim in southern Poland.
On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops reached the area, on a date that is now commemorated internationally as Holocaust Memorial Day.
The solemn day started with the lighting of candles and a speech by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is representing the country at the events alongside Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Duda stood alongside a group of survivors as he placed wreaths next to the ‘Death Wall’ in the yard of the camp’s Block 11, where thousands of people were executed during the atrocities.
“We Poles, on whose land—then occupied by the Nazis—Germans built this factory of death, we are now the guardians of memory,” Duda said.
“Poland is committed to looking after these sites so that memories are not forgotten, so that they’re not extinguished, so that they’re always preserved and so that, by way of memory, the world never again allows such a dramatic human catastrophe—more precisely, a catastrophe of humanity—to happen.”
They will be joined by representatives from 60 countries and international organizations, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Estimates say that Nazi Germany murdered over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, located near the town of Oświęcim in southern Poland.
On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops reached the area, on a date that is now commemorated internationally as Holocaust Memorial Day.
‘Guardians of memory’
The solemn day started with the lighting of candles and a speech by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is representing the country at the events alongside Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Duda stood alongside a group of survivors as he placed wreaths next to the ‘Death Wall’ in the yard of the camp’s Block 11, where thousands of people were executed during the atrocities.
“We Poles, on whose land—then occupied by the Nazis—Germans built this factory of death, we are now the guardians of memory,” Duda said.
“Poland is committed to looking after these sites so that memories are not forgotten, so that they’re not extinguished, so that they’re always preserved and so that, by way of memory, the world never again allows such a dramatic human catastrophe—more precisely, a catastrophe of humanity—to happen.”
Focus on the survivors
At 4 p.m. local time, the main memorial ceremony will be held in front of the camp’s infamous main gates. The survivors will give the main addresses, with politicians and delegations listening on.
Ahead of the landmark ceremony, the director of the museum now located at the former camp said the event this year will “be focused on the survivors.”
Piotr Cywiński told TVP World that at the liberation anniversary ceremony 20 years ago, there were 1,500 survivors, while 10 years ago there were 300 and this year there will be around 50.
“I don’t want to exaggerate but this is probably the last round anniversary with still an important group of them [survivors],” he said. “So we want to focus on them and their history.
“They will give the main speeches; we want to be, once again, with them.”
Ahead of the landmark ceremony, the director of the museum now located at the former camp said the event this year will “be focused on the survivors.”
Piotr Cywiński told TVP World that at the liberation anniversary ceremony 20 years ago, there were 1,500 survivors, while 10 years ago there were 300 and this year there will be around 50.
“I don’t want to exaggerate but this is probably the last round anniversary with still an important group of them [survivors],” he said. “So we want to focus on them and their history.
“They will give the main speeches; we want to be, once again, with them.”
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