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More than two hundred former prisoners gathered on Monday, January 27, in Auschwitz, at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. It is organized at the place where the former death camp was located, TASS reported. An action dedicated to the Holocaust Remembrance Day took place there. The day is celebrated in honor of the liberation of the prisoners by the Soviet army. This year marks 75 years since that date. Former prisoners became the protagonists of memorial events.
Soviet veterans who took part in the liberation of the camp did not take part in the event. Museum staff explained that for many years they had been trying to contact the war veterans who liberated Auschwitz, but, unfortunately, not a single one was found. Many Auschwitz liberators took part in fierce battles on the outskirts of Berlin and long passed away.
Memorial Day began with the laying of flowers at the Death Wall and continued with performances by former prisoners. At the end of the day, candles were lit at the monument to the victims of Nazism in Birkenau.
According to the organizers, representatives of more than 50 countries came to Auschwitz. Among them were government officials, parliamentarians, leaders of international organizations and clergy.
There was no official delegation from Russia at the events. Warsaw decided not to send an invitation to the Russian government, Russia was represented by its Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev.
Former Polish president Lech Walesa criticized this decision. He said that the Russian president had to be invited to events in Poland and underlined that it was the Soviet soldiers who liberated the concentration camp.
Russia and Poland are currently going through a dispute about the events of World War II. Earlier, the Polish Sejm passed a resolution accusing the USSR of starting a war along with Hitler Germany. In turn, Russia’s Ministry of Defense posted online historical documents on how the Soviet army liberated Poland. Documents show that the population welcomed the Red Army very favorably, promised to erect monuments in honor of the fallen liberators and preserve their feat for future generations.
Russkiy Mir
