Auschwitz survivors express ‘horror’ on anniversary as peace is shattered by war again
- 1.1 million people were killed at the former concentration camp in Poland that was under the occupation of German forces during World War II
- One survivor, subjected to medical experiments in the camp, appealed for ‘no more fascism, which brings death, genocide, crimes, slaughter and loss of dignity’
Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors and other mourners commemorated the 78th anniversary on Friday of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp, some expressing horror that war has again shattered peace in Europe and the lesson of Never Again is being forgotten.
The former concentration and extermination camp is located in the town of Oświęcim in southern Poland, which was under the occupation of German forces during World War II and became a place of systematic murder of Jews, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, Roma and others targeted for elimination by Adolf Hitler and his henchmen.
In all, some 1.1 million people were killed at the vast complex before it was liberated by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945.
Today the site, with its barracks and barbed wire and the ruins of gas chambers, stands as one of the world’s most recognised symbols of evil and a site of pilgrimage for millions from around the world.
Yet it lies only 300 kilometres (185 miles) from Ukraine, where Russian aggression is creating unthinkable death and destruction – a conflict on the minds of many this year.
One survivor, Zdzisława Włodarczyk, said during observances on Friday that the war has created a “feeling of horror” in her.