80th Anniversary of Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on January 27 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp complex at Auschwitz-Birkenau by Russian troops. Around a million people were killed there as the Nazis tried to exterminate all Jews and other groups during the Second World War.
Antisemitism (anti-Jewish hatred) has increased significantly in the UK and globally following the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent war in which Israel has killed forty times as many innocent Palestinians in Gaza and reduced the homes of survivors to rubble. However Israel would argue that it tries to reduce civilian casualties to a minimum as it fights the Hamas terrorists who use them as shields.
HMD 2025 can be an opportunity for people to come together, learn both from and about the past, and take actions to make a better future for all. Let us hope that eventually Israelis and Palestinians achieve this ambition.
Below is a short video in which three survivors of the camp describe their experiences.
For more information about HMD see the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website.