King pays tribute to Holocaust survivors amid Auschwitz commemorations

The gathering of Holocaust survivors reminds us that "never to be a silent witness in the face of cruelty and prejudice" as he honoured those who endured one of the most tragic periods in human history.

Spent time at the heart of Krakow's Jewish community as ceremonies commenced to memorialise the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a former Nazi concentration camp.

He emphasised to the Jewish Community Centre (JCC) audience that recalling the "evils of the past is crucial", and that knowledge must be used to motivate people to create a more considerate and compassionate society.

Inhabitants gathering at a poignant spot to lay flowers and candles in commemoration.

Visitors left tributes at a recreated Death Wall, honouring the victims who lost their lives there – mostly Polish political prisoners executed in large numbers.

In a speech, Mr Duda claimed "we Poles are keepers of today's collective memory" and argued that it is our duty to safeguard the life histories of the survivors.

The Princess of Wales is set to join her husband in London on Monday for a service to commemorate the anniversary.

Speakers are also invited to attend and speak at the ceremony, which will feature prominent figures from the faith and civic communities, as well as survivors of the Holocaust and more recent atrocities.

After meeting visitng members of Krakow's Jewish community, the King gave a speech, saying it was "a very solemn and somewhat sacred occasion" for them to be in Poland 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz.

He went on to say: "This is a moment when we reflect on the extent to which humanity can fall when evil is allowed to gain a hold, neglected for far too long by the world."

And it is a moment when we recall the moving accounts of survivors like Lily Ebert, who sadly left us in October, and who collectively taught us to value our liberty, to stand against unjust attitudes and to never remain spectators in the face of brutality and intolerance.

He stressed that those lessons had never been more vital in a world beset by the "disturbing resurgence of antisemitism" and grappling with turmoil and conflict.

With the sad depletion of the last survivors of the Holocaust, the duty of remembrance weighs increasingly on our shoulders and on the generation that follows us.

“This act of recalling past wrongs serves as a crucial reminder, helping us to create a better course for the present and tomorrow.”

The ceremony was built around the recollections and reflections of the survivors, who stood before a gathering of their peers, leaders of government, and foreign monarchs, sharing their personal accounts.

On the screens was displayed an image of a railway carriage, described as a symbol of the suffering of all who perished in Auschwitz concentration camp.

Marian Turski, an Auschwitz survivor and a member of the International Auschwitz Committee, was the first to speak.

The elderly man said: "My thoughts are now focused on the vast majority of people who suffered greatly, the millions of people who were affected by the devastating event, but whose stories will never be heard because they were killed as a result."

He used the term “Shoah”, which is the Hebrew word for Holocaust.

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