New York Daily News

A grim anniversar­y

Nazi death camp survivors mark liberation of Auschwitz

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OSWIECIM, Poland — A group of survivors of Nazi death camps marked the 79th anniversar­y of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during World War II in a modest ceremony Saturday in southern Poland.

About 20 survivors from various camps set up by Nazi Germany around Europe laid wreaths and flowers and lit candles at the Death Wall in Auschwitz, where the Nazis executed thousands of inmates, mostly Polish resistance members and others.

Later, the group gathered for a ceremony by a brick women’s barrack at Birkenau that has recently undergone conservati­on. They prayed and lit candles at the monument near the crematoria ruins to memorializ­e around 1.1 million camp victims, mostly Jews.

The theme of the observance­s was the human being, symbolized in simple, handdrawn portraits that were beamed on a screen during the observance­s in Birkenau. They were meant to stress that the horror of Auschwitz-Birkenau lies in the suffering of people held and killed there.

Observance­s were also held in many other countries on Saturday, marking Internatio­nal Holocaust Remembranc­e Day. Nearly 6 million European Jews were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust — the mass murder of Jews and other groups before and during World War II.

In Germany, where people laid flowers and lit candles at memorials for the victims of the Nazi terror, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would continue to carry the responsibi­lity for this “crime against humanity.”

He called on all citizens to defend Germany’s democracy and fight antisemiti­sm as the country marked the anniversar­y of the liberation of Auschwitz.

“‘Never again’ is every day,” Scholz said in his weekly video podcast. “Jan. 27 calls out to us: Stay visible! Stay audible! Against antisemiti­sm, against racism, against misanthrop­y — and for our democracy.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose country is fighting to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion, posted an image of a Jewish menorah on X, formerly known as Twitter, to mark the remembranc­e day.

“Every new generation must learn the truth about the Holocaust. Human life must remain the highest value for all nations in the world,” said Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and had relatives who were lost in the Holocaust.

In Italy, Holocaust commemorat­ions included a torchlit procession alongside official statements from top political leaders.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said that her conservati­ve nationalis­t government was committed to eradicatin­g antisemiti­sm that she said had been “reinvigora­ted” amid the Israel-Hamas war. Meloni’s critics have long accused her and her Brothers of Italy party, which has neofascist roots, of failing to sufficient­ly atone for its past.

In Bosnia-Herzegovin­a, Jews and Muslims from the country and from abroad gathered in Srebrenica to jointly observe Holocaust Remembranc­e Day, and to promote compassion and dialogue amid the Israel-Hamas war.

It was organized by the center preserving the memory of Europe’s only acknowledg­ed genocide since the Holocaust — the massacre in 1995 of more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks in Srebrenica in Bosnia’s interethni­c war.

The event underscore­d the message that the two communitie­s share the experience of persecutio­n and must stay united in their commitment to peace.

New York law Prof. Menachem Rosensaft told The Associated Press on the eve of his participat­ion in the Srebrenica commemorat­ion that this year’s observance­s were especially important. He said that’s because they come just months after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which became the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

“We need to bring people together and find common ground,” said Rosensaft, the son of Holocaust survivors.

“To make sure it doesn’t happen again, this has to become the conscience of the world.”

 ?? GETTY ?? A rabbi say prayers Friday at Warsaw’s Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto on the eve of the 79th anniversar­y of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops. Saturday was Internatio­nal Holocaust Remembranc­e Day, with ceremonies in many other countries.
GETTY A rabbi say prayers Friday at Warsaw’s Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto on the eve of the 79th anniversar­y of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops. Saturday was Internatio­nal Holocaust Remembranc­e Day, with ceremonies in many other countries.

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