King Charles III became the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz when he attended the special 80th anniversary service of the liberation of the former Nazi death camp.

International Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27 January each year, remembering the approximate 1.1 million people who were murdered at Auschwitz during the 5 years of its abhorrent operation.

Six million people in total, mostly Jews but also Romas, Sinti people, and Soviet prisoners, were murdered during World War Two, many of them women, children, the elderly and even babies.

It was on the 27th January 1945 that Soviet soldiers discovered the murderous Concentration Camp and were able to liberate more than 7,000 prisoners, many of them close to death from starvation.

At today’s service King Charles lay a light of remembrance as he joined dignitaries, ambassadors, priests, rabbis, political leaders and state delegations from around the world in listening to some of the 50 or so survivors who were in attendance and who spoke about their time in the camp and paid tribute to the victims.  

Back in the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accompanied the Prince and Princess of Wales at the official Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations in London.

Incredibly distressing sights

At Auschwitz, the Germans left behind barracks, watchtowers, the remains of gas chambers and the hair, spectacles, shoes and other personal belongings of those souls that they had murdered in unbelievably inhumane ways.

Many of these are preserved in what is now a museum, and their viewing is particularly moving, especially the footwear that very obviously came from the children.

Beyond comprehension

The “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work Will Set You Free) gate is recognized the world over and it is just before stepping foot through this entrance that first-time visitors – including King Charles – will have been moved at the sight of a single freight car, placed there as a symbol of the horrific mode of transport used to deliver the innocents to concentration camp.

The windowless cattle-wagons were used to bring people hundreds of miles, crammed together in horrendous conditions, before being led, in many cases, directly to their death.

Appreciating the absolute hell that these people suffered is beyond comprehension of anyone other than those who experienced it and lived through it.

Numbers of survivors diminishing

The King delivered a speech to Holocaust survivors in which he said “remembering the evils of the past remains vital”. He made the point at Krakow that this was “a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long for the world.”

He went on to add: “The number of Holocaust survivors regrettably diminishes with the passage of time, the responsibility of remembrance rests far heavier on our shoulders and on those of generations yet unborn.”

King’s personal pilgrimage

His Majesty had long wanted to visit the site and particularly for the anniversary to bear witness to the testimony of survivors in the location where so much suffering happened. 

Sources close to him stated that this was a “profound and deeply personal pilgrimage” for him. He is known to be incredibly proud in the knowledge that in 1943 his grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, saved a Jewish family by taking them into her home and hiding them in Nazi-occupied Athens.

He also has a deep commitment to Holocaust Education through his work as Patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and his inter-faith work.

Warning and promise from Queen

Queen Camilla is also heavily involved through the Ann Frank Trust and she vowed “never to forget” the atrocities of Auschwitz.

She spoke of the antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and other prejudices that are evident in the world today and reminded people of how the deadly seeds of the Holocaust were sown in small acts of exclusion, which became discrimination and aggression against neighbours and friends.

“Let’s unite in our commitment to take action, to speak up and chart a path towards a better, brighter, and more tolerant future for us all,” she said.

Eduction commitment from PM

Back in the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has renewed his commitment to ensure all schools teach pupils about the Holocaust – warning that society must make “never again” finally mean what it says.

The PM was joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales at the official Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations in London and ahead of the anniversary, Sir Keir said while we remember the six million Jewish victims we must also act to not only teach young people about the genocide but also make it a “national endeavour”.

He highlighted that “it happened, it can happen again: that is the warning of the Holocaust to us all; it was a collective endeavour by thousands of ordinary people utterly consumed by the hatred of difference and that is the hatred we stand against today.”

Escalation of unthinkable terror

German authorities founded the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1940 in the Polish town of Oswiecim, after their invasion of Poland in 1939.

Early on it was a camp for Polish prisoners, including Catholic priests and members of the Polish underground resistance, but it escalated into a terrifying death camp of mass murder at which the most unthinkable atrocities would be carried out.

High profile leaders and dignitaries in attendance

Others attending attending the service at the site included: Spain’s King Felipe VI, plus Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the French President Emmanuel Macron and a 10-person delegation from the US – although Donald Trump was not amongst them.

Another person who was not in attendance was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was a guest at the 60th anniversary in 2005, but he is no longer welcome due to his full-scale invasion of Poland’s neighbours Ukraine, in February 2022.