Leaders at largest Holocaust event
POLAND BOYCOTTS GLOBAL EVENT
DOZENS of world leaders descended upon Jerusalem for the largest-ever gathering focused on commemorating the Holocaust and combating rising modern-day anti-Semitism, a politically charged event that has been clouded by rival national interpretations of the genocide.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, the Prince of Wales, US Vice President Mike Pence and the presidents of Germany, Italy and Austria were among the dignitaries attending the World Holocaust Forum, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.
The ceremony at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, called Remembering The Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism, looks to project a united front in commemorating the genocide of European Jewry amid a global spike in anti-Jewish violence.
But the unresolved remnants of Second World War politics have permeated the solemn assembly over the differing historical narratives of various players. Poland’s president, who has been criticised for his own wartime revisionism, has boycotted the gathering since he was not invited to speak.
Mr Putin was granted a central role even as he leads a campaign to play down the Soviet Union’s pre-war pact with the Nazis and shift responsibility for the war’s outbreak on Poland.