Russia denied from Auschwitz commemoration ceremonies
Russian officials were not invited to ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Red Army following Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum announced on Wednesday, AFP reports, quoted by Agerpres.
"In the context of the aggression against a free and independent Ukraine, representatives of the Russian Federation were not invited to participate in this year's commemoration of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz", which is to take place on Friday, museum spokesman Piotr Sawicki told AFP.
Until now, Russia has always participated in the ceremonies held annually on January 27, and its representative had a speech during the main ceremony.
According to the museum's director, historian Piotr Cywinski, it was obvious that he could not "sign any letter addressed to the Russian ambassador in the tone of an invitation" in the context of the conflict.
"I hope this will change in the future, but we have a long way to go. (...) Russia will need an extremely long time and a very deep introspection after this conflict to return to the salons of the civilized world," the PAP agency quoted him as saying.
On the day Russia invaded Ukraine, on February 24, the museum called the Russian attack "an act of barbarism".
Built in Poland, Auschwitz-Birkenau is the symbol of Nazi Germany's genocide against six million European Jews, one million of whom died in the camp between 1940 and 1945, along with over 100,000 non-Jews.
The camp, where approximately 80,000 non-Jewish Poles, 25,000 Roma and 20,000 Soviet soldiers perished, was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945.
