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Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and associated local camps at the end of WWII.<\/p>\n
The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops is being marked on Monday at the site of the former death camp, a ceremony that is widely being treated as the last major observance that any notable number of survivors will be able to attend.<\/p>\n
Among those who traveled to the site is 86-year-old Tova Friedman, who was 6 when she was among the 7,000 people liberated on Jan. 27, 1945. She believes it will the be last gathering of survivors at Auschwitz and she came from her home in New Jersey to add her voice to those warning about rising hatred and antisemitism.<\/p>\n
Commemorations will culminate when world leaders and royalty will join with elderly camp survivors, the youngest of whom are in their 80s, at Birkenau, the part of Auschwitz where the mass murder of Jews took place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Survivors were expected to be the focus of the ceremonies this year, rather than politicians’ speeches. Which is not to say various politicians won’t attend, with the notable exception of Russia who hasn’t been invited since their 2022 invasion.\u00a0 Unusually, the two highest German officials (their Chancellor and President) are both to attend. They were to be joined by France’s Macron, the UK’s King Charles II, and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.<\/p>\n
We can expect many of these 80th anniversary events in the next 8 months marking the end of World War II.<\/p>\n
Never forget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"