Russia has not been invited to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau due to the Russian invasion and war in Ukraine, the site museum announced on Wednesday.
“In view of the aggression against a free and independent Ukraine, representatives of the Russian Federation were not invited to participate in this year’s commemoration of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz this year.”, which will take place this Friday, said museum spokesman Piotr Sawicki, quoted by the French news agency AFP.
So far, Russia has always participated in the ceremonies held annually on January 27, with its representative always speaking at the main ceremony.
The museum’s director, Piotr Cywinski, said it was “obvious” that he “couldn’t sign any letter to the Russian ambassador on an invitation tone” in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, nearly a year ago . past.
“I hope this changes in the future, but we still have a long way to go (…). Russia will need an extremely long period of time and very deep introspection after this conflict to return to the halls of the civilized world.”, he said, quoted by the Polish agency PAP.
Built in occupied Poland during World War II, Auschwitz-Birkenau is the symbol of the genocide committed by Nazi Germany on six million European Jews, one million of whom were murdered in that camp between 1940 and 1945, along with more than 100,000 non-Jews. Jews.
This camp, where about 80,000 non-Jewish Poles, 25,000 Gypsies and 20,000 Soviet soldiers were also killed, was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945
Source: DN
