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January 21, 2005/Shevat 11 5765, Vol. 57, No. 21
60 years after liberation
Poland and the world look back at Auschwitz
CAROLYN SLUTSKY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Each year, the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet forces is marked on Jan. 27, but this year the 60th anniversary has given Poland, site of the most infamous Nazi death camps, a special opportunity for remembrance and reflection.
The anniversary ceremonies, which will be held at the memorial site in Birkenau, will draw an assortment of international dignitaries and leaders. Among those slated to attend are Israeli President Moshe Katsav, Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yuschenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pope John Paul II, originally from the Polish town of Wadowice, which lies approximately 25 miles from Oswiecim, as Auschwitz is known in Polish, will send French Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger - who was born Jewish - as his special envoy.
In addition to world leaders, the most honored guests will be former prisoners of Auschwitz from many countries.
Jaime Ashworth, director of education at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow, said the 60th anniversary is significant because "this might be the last time survivors participate to this extent in Holocaust commemoration ceremonies."
In Italy, scores of educational, cultural and commemorative events were planned around the country.
Events also were planned across Germany, including addresses by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and World Jewish Congress President Israel Singer at a memorial service in Berlin together with former Nazi death camp inmates.
Memorials also are planned in the Czech Republic, Ukraine, England - where Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip will host a reception for Holocaust survivors at St. James Palace -and Greece, which is marking its first Holocaust anniversary day.
In the United States, Yad Vashem and the Israeli mission to the United Nations are sponsoring a photo exhibit at U.N. headquarters in New York, the first-ever Holocaust exhibit at the world body, and a special session will be held Jan. 24 to commemorate the liberation of the camps. In Washington, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is sponsoring several events, including a documentary recounting an Auschwitz survivor's return visit to the death camp.
The last roll call at Auschwitz was taken on Jan. 17, 1945. The next day, some 60,000 prisoners were sent out of the camp on death marches, headed to German camps in the west. Approximately 16,000 people were left behind in Auschwitz II, also called Birkenau.
More Jews - approximately 3.5 million - lived in prewar Poland than in any other country, and Poland lost more Jews than any other nation. Today Poland is home to anywhere between 5,000 and 20,000 Jews, many unaffiliated with the Jewish community.
Despite Poland's reputation for anti-Semitism, the country today is confronting its history effectively.
According to the U.S. State Department's report on global anti-Semitism, released Jan. 5, "surveys over the past several years showed a continuing decline in anti-Semitic sentiment.
"In June, the government held a major international conference to unveil its proposal to open an international center for human rights education in Oswiecim."
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