Survivors relive Auschwitz horror as world marks 80th anniversary of liberation
Seventy-eight years after the gates of Auschwitz were swung open, allowing the world to gaze upon the devastation and destruction within, survivors of the notorious concentration camp and their families gathered on the site to relive the horrors they endured. The somber ceremony marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest and most notorious of the Nazi crematoria.
Ruth Jakobovits, 92, an Auschwitz survivor, held back tears as she described the moment she was released from the camp. “When we saw the Soviet soldiers, we knew we were finally free. We screamed, we cried, we hugged each other. We were free,” she said.
The SS surrendered on January 27, 1945, and the first prisoners were freed by Soviet soldiers on January 27. After years of forced labor, brutal experimentation, and mass murder, the prisoners were finally spared. The camp’s vast system of gas chambers, laboratories, and cremators was uncovered, revealing the harrowing extent of the Nazi’s atrocities.
On this grim day 80 years ago, an estimated 150,000 prisoners were still alive, among the original 1.1 million who were brought to Auschwitz. Many more had perished, including 960,000 Jews, along with Roma, disabled people, and LGBTQ+ individuals who were targeted by the Nazi regime.
The survivors, now gray-haired and feeble, accounted for just 3% of the total number who had entered the gates of Auschwitz. They, and their families, bore the scars, both physical and emotional, of the unspeakable experiences that had befallen them.
The ceremony on January 27 was marked by a poignant speech delivered by Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda. “Today, we remember the innocent people who were brutally murdered, and we honor the survivors and the liberators who risked their lives to free Auschwitz,” he said. The solemn ceremony included a prayer, a minute’s silence, and the lighting of candles to honor the fallen.
As the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation approaches, the world continues to grapple with the lessons of the Holocaust. Auschwitz is a grim reminder of humanity’s capacity for hatred, cruelty, and inhumanity. It is also a testament to the resilience and hope of those who endured unimaginable suffering, and survived against all odds.
