The director of the Auschwitz museum sent a clear message to Vladimir Putin and Russia on the day of commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.
This Monday, January 27, 2025, the commemorative ceremonies of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, in Poland, on January 27, 1945, take place. At the time, the Red Army discovered the concentration camp and extermination and freed the 7,000 survivors present there. In total, 1.3 million people were deported to this camp and more than 1.1 million were killed, the majority of them Jews from across Europe.
The main ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in a tent above the entrance gate to the former Nazi camp at Auschwitz. All survivors have been invited and at least fifty of them will be present. “We know that in ten years, for the 90th anniversary, it will no longer be possible to have such a large group,” Pawel Sawicki, spokesperson for the museum, told AFP. Doù his wish to bring together as many guarantors and bearers of the memory of Auschwitz as possible in 2025.
Trump and Netanyahu absent
Delegations from 54 countries are expected in Poland, including France represented by President Emmanuel Macron. He will be accompanied by the Minister Delegate for Europe, Benjamin Haddad. Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris is also expected. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be present, as will the Italian, Austrian, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian and Finnish presidents.
Donald Trump will not make the trip. He will be represented by his Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Finally, if the participation (or not) of Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked controversy, he will ultimately not be present in Poland this Monday but will be replaced by his Minister of Education, Yoav Kisch.
“It is difficult to imagine the presence of Russia”
But one absence particularly attracts attention – even if its presence has been lacking during this type of commemoration for several editions now – and that is Russia. Indeed, the Kremlin will not participate in the various ceremonies, a constant since the invasion of Ukraine. Last September, the Auschwitz museum had already decided, judging that “such a presence would be cynical”, given the context between Moscow and kyiv.This is the third consecutive exclusion of Russia from these commemorations since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.
In addition, Vladimir Putin was already absent for the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp in 2015, just like in 2020 for the 75th anniversary. “It’s an anniversary. We remember the victims, but we also celebrate freedom. It is difficult to imagine the presence of Russia, which clearly does not understand the value of freedom,” said the director of the Auschwitz Museum, Piotr Cywinski, in a press release.