On January 27th, 1945, Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. This year marked the 76th anniversary of that historic event, and thousands of people from around the world gathered at the site to participate in a Holocaust remembrance march.
The march began at the “Arbeit macht frei” gate, which translates to “work sets you free.” This phrase was a cruel irony to the millions of prisoners who were forced to work in the camp, and it has become a symbol of the atrocities committed at Auschwitz.
The participants in the march walked for about 3 kilometers to reach the Birkenau extermination camp, where they laid wreaths and lit candles in memory of the victims. The Birkenau camp was where most of the mass killings took place, with an estimated 1.1 million people murdered there.
The march was organized by the International Auschwitz Committee, which is made up of survivors and their families. The committee’s president, Christoph Heubner, said that the march was a way to “keep the memory alive” and to show that “we will never forget.”
Many of the participants were young people, who were there to learn about the Holocaust and to honor the victims. One group of students from Germany carried a banner that read “Never again,” while another group from Israel held signs with the names of family members who had been killed in the Holocaust.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum also organized a virtual commemoration, which included speeches from survivors and officials. The museum’s director, Piotr Cywiński, said that it was important to remember the Holocaust not only as a historical event, but also as a warning for the future.
“We must remember that Auschwitz was not built in one day,” Cywiński said. “It was a long process of dehumanization and exclusion that led to genocide. We must be vigilant against any form of hatred and discrimination, and we must stand up for human dignity and human rights.”
The Holocaust was one of the darkest periods in human history, and it is important to remember the victims and to learn from the past. The Auschwitz remembrance march is a powerful symbol of that commitment, and it reminds us that we must never forget.
