Israel 75th Anniversary Freedom From Nazis

Israel Commemoration of 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Germany's Nazi Concentration Camp 'Auschwitz' in Poland
United States Vice President Mike Pence Calls for World to Unite Against Anti-Semitism

Fifth World Holocaust Forum Ceremony in Israel

1-23-20, Fox News -- United States Vice President Mike Pence delivered a stirring speech in the Jewish state of Israel. In her capitol of Jerusalem VP Pence before an audience that included world leaders of more than 40 nations, at Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Germany concentration camp of 'Auschwitz.' The vice president honored the Allied Forces who fought to liberate Europe from the grip of Germany's Nazis drawing inspiration from the "non-Jewish heroes who saved countless lives" during the Holocaust. Pence called the world to combat anti-Semitism amid a rise in violence against Jews around the globe. VP Pence said:

“We gather to fulfill the solemn obligation, an obligation of remembrance, to never let the memory of those who died in the Holocaust to be forgotten by anyone anywhere in the world. Today we remember what happens when the powerless cry for help and the powerful refuse to answer.  [..]

“We must be prepared to confront and expose the vile tide of anti-Semitism that is fueling hate and violence across the world and we must stand together. The world must stand strong against the Islamic Republic of Iran. And finally. we must have the courage to recognize -- all the leaders and the nations that are gathered here -- that today we have the responsibility and the power to ensure that what we remember here today can never happen again." More here

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Soviets Liberated Jews from Nazis at Auschwitz, Poland
1-23-20, At the 75th Anniversary of the Soviets liberating the Jews from Auschwitz, Russia's President Vladimir Putin became emotional as he gave his short remarks in Jerusalem

Axis forces besieged Leningrad [Saint Petersburg] for 872 days, seeking to starve out the Soviet Union’s second-largest city. Almost 650,000 Soviet civilians perished, including Putin’s elder brother Viktor Putin, before the blockade was lifted on January 27, 1944. Documents, diaries and newsreels cannot convey what the people of Leningrad really endured, Putin said at the ceremony. "Deprived of food, light, warmth, they continued to work in hospitals, engage in art, science and education. Sacrificing themselves, they saved a great city for future generations. The unconquered Leningrad became a true legend, the greatness of fortitude and faith in the victory of its inhabitants, the pinnacle of human dignity."
He offered a shocking detail that in a single year the Leningraders donated 144 tons of blood for the troops fighting on the front line, in defiance of their own deprivation. Israel, like Russia, understands the significance of the lessons of WWII and refuses to allow the world to forget where tolerating chauvinism, anti-Semitism, and Russophobia can lead.

See video of Russia being honored to cut the ribbon of the unveiling of the Leningrad Monument here

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 1-23-20, Israel's Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said to Russia's President Vladimir Putin: “Israel is appreciative of the great sacrifices the Russian people made in World War II and the overwhelmingly important contributions of the Red Army in defeating the German Nazis and liberating the concentration camps, among them Auschwitz. On a personal note, it is thanks to the Red Army that my mother, who was taken as a teen to Auschwitz, was liberated and immigrated to Israel, where she established a family. As the ones who were liberated, we know exactly who did the liberating. Thank you. We know the historical truth.”

With the comment, Katz was referring to a debate that has surfaced anew in Poland about the role of Russia during the war, with Poland claiming that Russia was an enabler of Hitler because of a pact between Russia and Nazi Germany that Warsaw claims led to a deal to divide Poland between them. Poland is not attending the event Thursday.
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1-23-20, Israel is hosting 5th annual World Holocaust Forum, marking the 75 years since the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz Poland was liberated by Soviet troops. Present-day politics have cast a shadow over the solemn occasion, however. Delegations of 40 countries will attend the main event at the Yad Vashem memorial complex to remember the Jewish Nazi Holocaust and express commitment to fighting anti-Semitism.However, Polish President Andrzej Duda refused to attend as he was offended that Russian President Vladimir Putin was invited to speak at the ceremony and he was not. He will be speaking at Poland’s own commemoration on Monday. Poland is embroiled in a bitter dispute with Russia over the causes and consequences of the Second World War.

The current Polish government, President Andrzej Duda has refused to give the Soviet Union any credit for liberating the Jews from Auschwitz death camps – or Poland, for that matter – insisting instead that their country was a purely innocent victim of Nazis and Soviets in equal measure where the Jewish death camps were located. More here
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History

​On January 27, 1945 Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing the Jewish survivors of the network of Nazi Germany concentration camps; finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there. Auschwitz was really a group of camps, designated I, II, and III. There were also 40 smaller “satellite” camps. It was at Auschwitz II, at Birkenau, established in October 1941, that the SS Nazis from Germany created a complex, monstrously orchestrated killing ground: 300 prison barracks; four “bathhouses” in which prisoners were gassed; corpse cellars; and cremating ovens. Thousands of prisoners were also used for medical experiments overseen and performed by the camp doctor, Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death.”
The Red Army of the Soviet Union had been advancing deeper into Poland since mid-January 1945 liberating Warsaw and Krakow. Then the Soviet troops headed for Auschwitz. In anticipation of the Soviet arrival, the German Gestapo began a murder spree in the camps, shooting sick prisoners and blowing up crematoria in a desperate attempt to destroy the evidence of their crimes. More here

When the Soviets finally broke through, Soviet soldiers encountered 648 corpses and more than 7,000 starving Jewish survivors. There were also six storehouses filled with literally hundreds of thousands of women’s dresses, men’s suits and shoes that the Germans did not have time to burn. More here www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-liberate-auschwitz

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