75: Official Remembrance

From the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum: 

“75th ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF GERMAN NAZI CONCENTRATION AND EXTERMINATION CAMP AUSCHWITZ   27 JANUARY 2020”

The year 2020 will be special due to two anniversaries related to the memory: The 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration, under which the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research was established, today the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance; and the 15th anniversary of the adoption of 27 January as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations General Assembly. Both events symbolically took place on 27 January, on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Consequently, the major international commemoration event will be organized at the Auschwitz Memorial.

Auschwitz Survivors will be the most important guests of the event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We expect that on January 27, 2020, about 200 of them will come to the Memorial from all over the world. A delegation of approximately 120 Auschwitz and Holocaust Survivors from the United States, Canada, Israel, Australia, and several European countries will be able to take part in the main commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz thanks to the support of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation from New York City under the Leadership of Ronald S. Lauder. More and more former prisoners from Poland are now confirming their presence.

Important information:

• Confirmed heads of state delgations for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

• 75th anniversary in live TV broadcast

• Schedule of events of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

• Ronald S. Lauder will speak on behalf of the Pillars of Remembrance

• Anniversary quote: "We have a dark premonition because we know"

Very positive signals concerning the organization of common viewing of the anniversary have already reached us from some institutions and organizations. Such events may be of great importance for former prisoners of Auschwitz and other camps as well as Holocaust Survivors residing nearby. Each institution or organization which is going to prepare an event of this kind can contact us by e-mail at press[at]auschwitz.org and provide their name, location and contact details. We will publish this information on the 75.auschwitz.org website in order to help survivors find and reach the nearest place where the broadcast will be organized. Five years ago, about 300 Survivors, witnesses of the history of Auschwitz, have met in front of the Gate of Death at the former Birkenau camp in order to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation. Official TV signal was broadcasted to the entire world. Over 250 TV stations from different countries used the broadcast. According to the collected data, over five hundred million people watched the commemoration live.

Schedule of events 

The official commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz will take place at the site of the former camp on 27 January 2020. Similarly to the 70th anniversary, a special tent will be erected above the Gate of Death of the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp.

AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU – January 27, 2020

15:30 - MAIN COMMEMORATION IN FRONT OF 'THE GATE OF DEATH' OF THE FORMER AUSCHWITZ II-BIRKENAU CAMP

• welcome address – Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland

• MAIN ADDRESSES – Auschwitz Survivors

• address – Representative of “The Pillars of Remembrance”, Ronald S. Lauder

• word of thanks – Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Memorial 

• ecumenical prayers

17:00 – PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE VICTIMS AT THE MONUMENT IN BIRKENAU

Survivors’ delegation and heads of state delegations

CONFIRMED HEADS OF STATE DELEGATIONS

Australia – President of the Senate Scott Ryan

Austria – President Alexander Van der Bellen

Cyprus – President of the House of Representatives Demetrios Syllouris

Czechia – Prime Minister Andrej Babiš

Estonia – Minister of Population Riina Solman

Finland – President Sauli Niinistö

Germany – President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Greece – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Hungary – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán

Ireland – The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Simon Coveney T.D.

Israel – President Reuven Rivlin

Latvia – President Egils Levits

Lichtenstein – Prime Minister Adrian Hasler

Luxembourg – HRH Grand Duke Henri, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel

Malta – President George William Vella

The Netherlands - His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Prime Minister Mark Rutte

Norway - HRH Crown Prince Haakon and Prime Minister Erna Solberg

Poland – President Andrzej Duda

Portugal – Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva

Russia – Ambassador Sergey Andreev

Serbia – Prime Minister Ana Brnabić

Slovenia – President Borut Pahor

Spain – HM Philip VI of Spain, HM Queen Letizia

Sweden – HRH Crown Princess Victoria, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Speaker of the Parliament Andreas Norlén

Switzerland – Presidency of the Swiss Confederation

Turkey – Ambassador Tunç Üğdül

Vatican – special representative of the Holy See Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski

The United Kingdom – HRH The Duchess of Cornwall

^ The 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camp in Poland is coming up on January 27th and it is very important to remember what the Germans and their collaborators did to the millions upon millions of innocent men, women and children during the war. This is information on the official remembrance at the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum. ^

http://www.auschwitz.org/en/home-page75/