– Today, here on the grounds of the museum in Oświęcim, on the site of the extermination of a former German concentration camp, 1.1 million people of various nationalities, mainly Jews, but also Poles, Russians, Roma, etc. A memorial ceremony will be held. Andrzej Duda began his speech by saying that many nationalities from all over Europe suffered here and were killed here.
Andrzej Duda in Auschwitz: Poles are the guardians of memory
The President emphasized that Poles are now the “guardians of the memory” of the Holocaust and the successors of Captain Witold Pilecki. – In a painful sense, he said, we are continuing the extraordinary mission that Captain Pilecki voluntarily undertook and deliberately allowed himself to be confined in the camp in order to testify.
Mr Duda claimed that Poland was managing the places where German crimes occurred during World War II “so that the memory is not erased”. “May we always remember, and through this memory, the world never allow such a dramatic human catastrophe to happen again,” the president said.
Duda recalled that survivors came to the camp on the 80th anniversary of its liberation. He admitted it was an honor to accompany them as they laid wreaths and candles at the Wall of Death. – We honor the memory of all those who were murdered, all who died, and all who suffered. Lord, grant them eternal rest, he concluded.
80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Survivors at the center of the celebration
After this, the anniversary celebration began at 9:00, with Andrzej Duda paying tribute to the victims of crime. The President laid wreaths and candles at the Wall of Death at Auschwitz I, together with survivors who had arrived on the scene. During operations that began in late 1941, German troops shot and killed thousands of people, mostly Poles. The wall was torn down by the Nazis in 1944, and a replica now stands there.
The main ceremony will begin at 4pm in a giant tent set up in front of the former Auschwitz II Birkenau camp. The event lasts approximately 90 minutes. That voice belongs to the survivors. It is expected to welcome approximately 3,000 people. The ceremony attracted participants including delegations from approximately 60 countries and international organizations, including: monarch, president, prime minister. Survivors will give keynote speeches.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder will pay tribute to the former prisoners on behalf of the donors of the Auschwitz Museum. Piotr Cywiński, director of the Oswiecim facility, will also speak.
The ceremony ends with prayers from clergy from various religions and sects. Participants will especially recite Kaddish and Psalm 42. The event will conclude with a tribute to the victims by survivors and a delegation of heads of state. They will do this next to an old wagon placed at the celebration site, just as the Germans did when they expelled the Jews during the Holocaust.
According to a report from the Auschwitz Museum, the wagon has been standing in the middle of the ramp at the former Birkenau camp since 2009. This is where SS doctors screened deported Jews and sent most of them to death in gas chambers. “This monument is dedicated to the memory of the approximately 420,000 Jews of Hungarian origin who were deported to Auschwitz between May and July 1944,” the facility reported.
Andrzej Duda is the sponsor of the celebrations in Oświęcim
January 27th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day 80 years ago, the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. It became a symbol of the crimes committed by the Germans against the Jews. It is also the place of execution for Poles, Roma and other nationalities.
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