Putin's remarks on Auschwitz anniversary amid Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia, in his statement on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, wrote that "Russian citizens are direct descendants and successors of the generation of victors." This information was reported by AFP, referring to a Kremlin statement.
Putin recalled that in January 1945, the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp, revealing the truth about Nazi crimes to the world. "In January 1945, the Red Army freed the Auschwitz concentration camp, unveiling to humanity the horrific crimes committed by the Nazis and their collaborators, who annihilated millions of Jews, Russians, Roma, and people of other ethnicities," Putin wrote.
He did not mention the Poles, who were the second-largest group of victims in the German extermination camp after the Jews.
international Holocaust Remembrance Day
Putin described International Holocaust Remembrance Day as a mournful date of great moral and humanistic significance. He emphasized that Russia "will do everything to defend people's right to ethnic, linguistic, and spiritual identity and to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism, Russophobia, and other racist ideologies."
Anniversary celebrations without a Russian delegation
Due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian delegation was not invited to participate in the anniversary celebrations of the liberation of Auschwitz. Over 50 delegations from around the world will attend the ceremonies, including British King Charles III and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The most significant guests of the celebrations will be about 50 survivors – former prisoners of German concentration camps. Former Auschwitz prisoners Janina Iwańska, Tova Friedman, and Leon Weintraub will speak during the main ceremony. Attendees will be welcomed by Marian Turski, also a survivor of Auschwitz.
According to data from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, German Nazis murdered approximately 1.1 million people in the camp, including one million Jews, 70,000 Poles, 18,000 Romani people, 14,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and about 12,000 representatives of other nationalities.
