Survivors and mourners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp commemorated the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the camp on Friday, which also marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
This year, speakers at the ceremony expressed horror that peace in Europe has been upended once again due to the war in Ukraine. The memorial site lies just 185 miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
“Standing here today at this place of remembrance, Birkenau, I follow with horror the news from the east that the Russian army, which liberated us here, is waging a war there in Ukraine. Why? Why?” said survivor Zdzisława Włodarczyk to the Associated Press during observances Friday.
Among those who attended the event was second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of either a U.S. president or vice president.
In the town of Oświęcim in southern Poland, roughly 1.1 million people were killed at the concentration camp now a memorial site, which serves as a stark reminder of the the systematic murder of Jews targeted by Nazi Germany.
War in Ukraine roils European peace
Up until now, Russia has always attended the commemorations on Holocaust Remembrance Day in some capacity, but this year, no Russian official was invited to the commemorations due to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressed empathy…
