Robert Edsel's Blog

65th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland. On January 17, 1945, the Nazis evacuated the camp, forcing some 60,000 prisoners on a death march to the Bergen-Belsen camp in Germany. On January 27, Soviet troops liberated the 7,500 prisoners who were left at Auschwitz because they were too weak.

Poland is marking the anniversary today with ceremonies and mass at Auschwitz, as well as the Third International Holocaust Forum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek will address the forum, and video messages are expected from US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. 200 European Union dignitaries, Holocaust survivors, including 100 who were imprisoned at Auschwitz, and students will attend. Let us all take a few moments today to remember the victims of Nazi persecution. I found this short video clip on YouTube particularly moving.

Auschwitz haunts Soviet veteran (Click Link to Play Video)

Tags: Allies, Auschwitz, European President Jerzy Buzek, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany, Holocaust, Isreal Prime Minister Bengamin Netanyahu, Nazis, President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Soviet Union, YouTube

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 4:53 pm and is filed under Amazing Stories, General, History, Military, World War II. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.