Warsaw: Auschwitz survivors and global leaders gathered at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in southern Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
The ceremony drew an array of international dignitaries, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, King Charles III of the United Kingdom, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish President Andrzej Duda, along with representatives from approximately 60 countries and international organizations.
The main commemoration took place at 4 pm local time in a large tent erected near the iconic main gate of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, the largest of the extermination camps. Around 3,000 attendees, including Holocaust survivors, their families, and world leaders, joined to honor the victims and reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust.
Polish President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to the victims during the ceremony, emphasizing Poland’s role in preserving these historical sites.
“Poland takes care of those sites to protect the memory, to keep it alive, so people always remember,” he said. Duda also highlighted that Jan. 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established in 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly.
He added, “Today, we commemorate all those who were murdered during the Holocaust, including over 3 million Polish citizens of Jewish nationality who were killed by the Germans during World War II,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Auschwitz concentration camp was established by the Nazis in 1940. At least 1.1 million people were murdered there. The camp was liberated by the Soviet Army on Jan. 27, 1945, a date now recognised globally as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
(IANS)
