Thousands of individuals have gathered at the former Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
According to organizers, they were joined by 80 survivors of the Holocaust.
The March of the Living followed a 3km route leading to the crematoria of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where participants honored the millions of Jews who perished and called for an end to antisemitism and intolerance.
“In an era when anti-Semitism is resurfacing, when there is animosity towards Israel, and when calls for Israel’s destruction grow louder, we must remain resilient and remind the world: never again,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a press conference ahead of the event.
Recent anti-Semitic incidents have escalated alongside protests against Israel in various regions, including Europe, North America, and Australia, since Israel initiated its conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
“We both expressed our hope that the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, initiated by Hamas’ assault on Israel, can come to an end, and that the hostages still held by Hamas will be able to return home,” stated Polish President Andrzej Duda, who stood next to Mr. Herzog.
Watch: One survivor reflects on the Holocaust
Survivors attending the march urged global leaders to remember the lessons learned from history.
Dr. Martin Stern emphasized that concentrating solely on the Holocaust would mean “fighting the last war,” adding, “we face current challenges that must be addressed.”
At 87 years old, having been arrested at the age of five and sent to Terezin concentration camp in present-day Czech Republic, he remarked that humanity claims to have learned its lesson, but often “comes to the wrong conclusions.”
Holocaust survivors were among those participating in the event.
Another survivor, Sol Nayman, 89, articulated that the most distressing aspect of the Holocaust is the potential for people to forget about it.
Originally from Poland, he escaped with his family during World War II to the woods, eventually fleeing to the Soviet Union.
Mr. Nayman lamented that, regrettably, billions still deny the Holocaust’s occurrence.
“I invite them to walk with me through Auschwitz, through Treblinka, or Majdanek, or any camp they choose. That’s where the evidence lies.”
“We will persist in sharing our stories. We will continue to educate about it, and hopefully, it will impact one person at a time, one child at a time.”
Many participants were adorned in Israeli flags.
Over 1.1 million people, predominantly Jews, died in gas chambers or from starvation, illness, and exposure at Auschwitz, a site established by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II.
More than three million of Poland’s 3.2 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis, representing roughly half of the Jews in Europe who were killed during the Holocaust.
Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically exterminated six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, alongside Roma, sexual minorities, individuals with disabilities, and others targeted by genocidal ideology.
Sirens sound as Israel commemorates the Holocaust.
Israel observed a moment of silence as sirens reverberated throughout the country on its Holocaust Remembrance Day.
For two minutes, Israelis paused in silence: traffic halted, pedestrians stopped, and daily activities came to a standstill in symbolic remembrance of all those who perished.
This commemoration, which occurs annually in April or May according to the Hebrew calendar, is distinct from International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed on January 27.
Memorial events are also taking place in schools, government buildings, military bases, and the parliament.
An Israeli governmental organization supporting Holocaust survivors reported that 120,507 survivors reside in Israel, reflecting a nearly 10% decrease from the previous year’s total.
