Poland: Excluded Russia from the events for the liberation of Auschwitz

Russians representatives not invited to the events of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Red Army, because of Russian invasion of Ukrainethe museum management announced.

“In view of the attack on 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” which is to take place this Friday, Piotr Savitsky, a spokesman for the museum, told AFP.

To date, Russia has always participated in the ceremonies held annually on January 27, with the Russian representative delivering a speech at the main ceremony.

According to the director of the museum, Piotr Chyvinski, it was obvious that he could not sign a letter of invitation to the Russian ambassador in the midst of the war in Ukraine.

“I hope that will change in the future, but we have a long way to go. Russia will need an extremely long time and a very deep introspection after this conflict to return to the living rooms of the civilized world.”he said, according to PAP news agency.

On the day Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the museum called the Russian attack an “act of barbarism.” “This act of barbarity will be judged by History and its perpetrators, hopefully, by the International Criminal Court”the museum said on Twitter at the time.

Built in Nazi-occupied, Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau is the symbol of the genocide committed by Nazi Germany against six million European Jews, one million of whom died in the camp between 1940 and 1945, with more than 100,000 non-Jews. This camp, where approximately 80,000 non-Jewish Poles, 25,000 Roma and 20,000 Soviet soldiers also died, was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945.