On January 27, 2025, at a memorial service in front of the large Birkenau camp gate in Oświęcim, the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp 80 years ago was commemorated. The 80th anniversary will be one of the last that survivors can still actively participate in. The focus was on their voices as a reminder and mandate.

The ceremony began with a greeting from Marian Turski, who emphasized the importance of remembering. Jannina Iwańska, Tova Friedman and Leon Weintraub, camp survivors, then shared their personal stories and recalled the unimaginable atrocities they had suffered. Their testimonies are urgent reminders to subsequent generations never to forget the horrors of the Holocaust.

Marian Turski had the idea for the upcoming exhibition in the museum Center for Persecuted Arts, the works of Marian Ruzsamki will show. If his health permits, he will personally come to Solingen for the opening. He also writes an article for the exhibition catalog. Turski was born on June 26, 1926 in Druskieniki, Poland (now Druskininkai, Lithuania) and was a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Turski is chairman of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw and the International Auschwitz Committee. His famous speech “Auschwitz Warns” in 2020 at the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz underlines his tireless work against forgetting and for the fight against anti-Semitism and racism.

“Auschwitz did not fall out of the sky. It began with small manifestations of intolerance and anti-Semitism, with racism. That's what you have to remember: It didn't start with gas chambers.” - Marian Turski, January 27, 2020

Marian Turski gives a short speech and quotes lines of poetry.

The second speaker, Janina Iwańska, born 1930 in Warsaw, was deported as a young Polish woman to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp after the Warsaw Uprising. She has dedicated her life to remembrance and enlightenment. Her moving story was recorded by Delfina Jałowik in a book that provides a deep insight into her fate and experiences. We would very much like to present a book with Janina Iwańska in Solingen in order to make her story available in Germany as well and to continue the dialogue about remembrance and responsibility.

Another part of the commemoration was music by composers who became victims of the Holocaust themselves or continued their art in the camps. Pieces by Simon James, Józef Kropiński, Gideon Klein and Szymon Laks reminded us that music and art remained a means of expression and resistance even under inhumane conditions. Her works, often composed at risk of life, are today vivid testimonies of memory.

More than 60 delegations took part in the commemoration event. Germany was represented by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and French President Emmanuel Macron took part in the ceremony. Canada sent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Great Britain represented King Charles III. Other European heads of state and members of royal families had arrived. The host state Poland had a high-level presence with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Representatives of international institutions were also present: the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament were present, as was NATO. UNESCO was represented by Director-General Audrey Azoulay, and for the United Nations, Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, attended the commemoration. The presence of international delegations underscored the global importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust and the joint commitment.

For the museum Center for Persecuted Arts It was a great honor to be able to attend this special memorial service. As a museum dedicated to the memory of persecuted artists, it is a daily obligation to remember the millions of victims of the Holocaust and Nazi terror and to emphasize the importance of art as an expression of resistance, survival and remembrance.

“Attending this memorial event — together with so many guests of honor, but also with our Polish colleagues, including the director of the Bunkier Sztuki, Dr. Delfina Jałowik — encourages us in our work at the Center for Persecuted Arts. The survivors have reminded us today how important it is to make visible the stories of those people who were persecuted, disenfranchised and murdered under the National Socialists — including many artists whose works are now a central part of our collection. The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz is not only a day of remembrance, but also a reminder: History obliges us to remain alert to stand up against anti-Semitism, racism and all forms of misanthropy. Because the survivors' legacy must not fall silent with them — it is our task to pass on their voices.” Dr. Jürgen Joseph Kaumkötter, Auschwitz-Birkenau, January 27, 2025

The memorial service ended with the setting up of candles for the victims. The survivors set up candles in front of the large camp gate, which brought them young people. The heads of state then also lit candles. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky brought his candle, applause filled the room. This event underlined the importance of remembering for a peaceful present and how important it is the commitment of every individual to preserve the lessons of the past in order to create a better future.