Politicians’ speeches banned at Auschwitz ceremony

Memorial’s director says he wants anniversary event to focus on the last survivors of the Nazi concentration camp

Shaun Walker

Monarchs, presidents and prime ministers are expected among the attendees at a commemoration event for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz this month, but none of them will be let near a microphone. In a first for a “round” anniversary of the liberation, the Auschwitz museum has banned all speeches by politicians at the event on 27 January, which will mark 80 years since Soviet troops liberated the camp in 1945. Only Auschwitz survivors will speak, in what is likely to be the last big commemoration when many are still alive and healthy enough to travel. “There will be no political speeches at all,” said Piotr Cywiński, director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum. “We want to focus on the last survivors that are among us and on…

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Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 17 January 2025

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