In Poland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, alongside world leaders and former prisoners of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, participated in events commemorating the 80th anniversary of its liberation, reports the Office of the President of Ukraine.
During World War II, over a million people perished in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, the majority of whom were Jews. The camp was liberated on January 27, 1945, when soldiers from the 100th Lviv Division of the 1st Ukrainian Front opened the main camp gates.
Sixty years after the camp's liberation, the UN General Assembly established this date as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The event was attended by around 50 former prisoners who managed to survive the horrors of one of the largest Nazi death camps despite the torture they endured.
"There are very few left - people who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Today, they spoke to leaders from nearly 60 countries and the entire world. About how ruthless people can be when their minds are poisoned by hatred. About what the camp inmates had to endure. And about their liberation on January 27, 80 years ago," Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel.
He noted that for thousands of surviving Jews, this day became a second birthday. "But millions of people perished," - emphasized the president.
"Today, together with the world, Ukraine honors the memory of the Holocaust victims and condemns Nazism. Everyone who invests in hatred loses. Everyone who saves lives will receive the gratitude of the world," - Zelensky added.
The commemoration ceremony took place at the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau in the Polish town of Oświęcim. It was attended by heads and representatives from nearly 60 states and international organizations.
In particular, the King of the United Kingdom, royal families from Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Crown Prince of Norway, the Crown Princess of Sweden, as well as the presidents of Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Germany, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Switzerland, the Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Prime Ministers of Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Croatia, Sweden, along with the presidents of the European Council and the European Parliament.