King Charles became the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz, a former Nazi concentration camp, to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation
King Charles became the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz, a former Nazi concentration camp, to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
The King travelled to Poland to join survivors and other dignitaries at a service at the site of the former concentration camp, at the end of which he laid a light of remembrance to honour those who lost their lives.
Sources close to the King say this is a profound visit for him with one aide describing it as a “deeply personal pilgrimage.”
Back in the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined the Prince of Wales at the official commemorations in London to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Holocaust Memorial Day, which takes place on 27 January each year, remembers the six million Jews murdered during World War II.
It also commemorates the millions of people outside of the Jewish faith who were murdered through Nazi persecution and those targeted in more recent genocides. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest Nazi concentration camp and was at the centre of the Nazi campaign to eradicate Europe’s Jewish population.
The King has long wanted to be present at Auschwitz for the liberation ceremony not just because of the significance of the anniversary but also to bear witness to the testimony of survivors in the location where so much suffering happened.
The King has long wanted to be present at Auschwitz for the liberation ceremony not just because of the significance of the anniversary but also to bear witness to the testimony of survivors in the location where so much suffering happened
In 1943, the King’s grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, saved a Jewish family by taking them into her home and hiding them in Nazi-occupied Athens – something the King has said brought him and the Royal Family an immense sense of pride.
During his brief visit to Poland the King also met President Andrzej Duda.
The prime minister visited Auschwitz earlier this month, where he vowed to fight the “poison of antisemitism” Speaking ahead of the anniversary Starmer said while we remember the six million Jewish victims “we must also act”, adding he wanted to make teaching young people about the genocide a “national endeavour”.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch spoke of the importance of confronting “the resurgence of antisemitism today” while reflecting on the Holocaust as a “unique evil in human history”, in a statement to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. While Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged vigilance in defending “peace, human rights and compassion” and guarding against “antisemitism, hatred, discrimination and oppression”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron were among those who attended the event, which began in a tent erected over the former death camp’s infamous entrance gate.
All of Auschwitz’s remaining survivors were invited to the commemorations and can bring one person for support. “We are fully aware of how physically demanding and emotionally taxing attending the commemoration event at the site of the former camp can be for them,” the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum said in a statement. Michael Bornstein, who survived for seven months inside Auschwitz as a child, said that “nothing will be easy about returning.” One of the symbols of the 80th anniversary is a freight train car, which will be placed directly in front of the main gate. The train car is dedicated to the memory of the approximately 420,000 Hun
