News

60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz nears

– Presidents Moshe Katzav of Israel, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Jacques Chirac of France, and Aleksander Kwaśniewski of Poland will attend the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp, Andrzej Przewoźnik, secretary of the Council for the Protection of the Remembrance of Fighting and Martyrdom, announced on Wednesday, November 3.

“Others are yet to be confirmed, but we can expect attendance by more heads of state and presidents of countries that Auschwitz prisoners came from.,” Przewożnik said.

He added that details on the American representative are still to be finalized: “We can say for sure that America will be represented at a high level.”

Germany is also interested in participating in the observances. “This is a diplomatic matter for the Chancellery of the President [of Poland],” Przewoźnik said. “I am not responsible for that sphere. I know that discussions have taken place, but I cannot say anything about the results. However, Germany is interested in participating,” he explained.

Przewożnik stated that an outline program is ready for the observances, to be held on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the camp, at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau site. The organizers estimate that around 10,000 people could attend.

The observances are scheduled to begin at 2:30 PM local time and will include brief speeches by former prisoners and by the presidents of Israel, Russia, and Poland. There will be a brief artistic program, featuring a work specially composed for the occasion by Krzysztof Knittel, and ecumenical prayers.

Aside from the international commemoration, there will also be local observances of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp and the city of Oświęcim. The city’s organizing committee has decided to begin on January 26 with an ecumenical service in memory of the victims of Auschwitz, to be held at the St. Maksymilian Kolbe center in the nearby town of Harmęże. There will be a concert in Cracow the same day.

The main local commemoration will be held on January 27, before the international observances at the Birkenau site. In the morning, participants in the local event will pay tribute to the Polish and Jewish residents of Oświęcim and the surrounding land who perished in Auschwitz, and to the Red Army soldiers and slave laborers who died during the construction of the IG Farben plants and the camp itself.