EVIL DOES NOT BEGET GOOD, BUT GOOD CANNOT BE CONQUERED. 79TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ
On 27 January 2024, twenty Auschwitz and Holocaust Survivors took part in the commemoration of the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp. The event was held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
Paweł Sawicki
The witnesses of history were accompanied, among others, by the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, the Vice-Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Dorota Niedziela, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, Minister Wojciech Kolarski from the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, as well as other representatives of state authorities from Poland, ambassadors and diplomats, representatives of the clergy, regional authorities, local goverments, museum staff, and memorial sites.
The commemoration event was led by Marek Zając, Chairman of the Council of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. The theme of the anniversary was a human, symbolically visualised by the faces of the people imprisoned at Auschwitz, immortalised in drawings made during the existence of the camp and after the war.
At the beginning of the anniversary an Auschwitz Survivor Halina Birenbaum took the floor.
Halina Birenbaum was born in 1929 in Warsaw. During World War II, she was imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto and then in several German concentration camps, including Majdanek, where she lost her mother, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ravensbrück, and Neustadt-Glewe. Her father was murdered in Treblinka. Out of all her relatives, only her brother survived the war. In 1947, she emigrated to Israel, where she pursued literary work.
"I stand here today deeply moved together with you – in a place from which one could exit only as smoke from the chimney. The anniversary commemorations are taking place this year in front of barracks number 27, my barracks, where I slept on the upper bunk opposite the entrance door," she said.
"Since my liberation at the age of 15, until today's present 94 and a half, I have been telling and writing, describing these stories, retelling them in different countries and different languages. I lived to see liberation and a long life during the subsequent wars. I am painfully aware of the sufferings and tragedies of the present wars and of the present people. Russia's attack on Ukraine. In our country, terrorist attacks, barbaric attacks by Hamas, and war from all sides. The sons and daughters of the few survivors of the Holocaust are falling. Already having rebuilt a new life, in the new homeland of Israel,” she stressed.
"Evil does not beget good, but good cannot be conquered. The world cannot be exterminated, it cannot be destroyed. It must be vigilant, it cannot be indifferent. I am sure that this is what will happen. Shalom,” Halina Birenbaum concluded her speech.
The Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, at the beginning of her speech, said, "This place has tragically inscribed itself in the history of Poland and Europe, being a silent witness to the Shoah, the genocide of Roma from across the continent, the place of execution for tens of thousands of Polish patriots and citizens of almost all European countries."
"We should first of all remember how the death camps came about. It began because people did not react sufficiently to hate speech, which, as the history of the Second World War has shown, has a destructive power. It can be said with full responsibility that Auschwitz-Birkenau was brought about by words that took away the humanity of others, that poisoned hearts, minds, and consciences for years, and that in the end gave birth to absolute evil,” she said.
"Next generations must talk about what happened here, especially that now, often using new technological tools that create a sense of anonymity, it is easy to deny and relativize tragic history, manipulate information, and thereby telling lies about people. May the memory of what happened at Auschwitz-Birkenau be a commitment for each of us to build a world where love conquers hate, openness and empathy overcome stereotypes and prejudices, and every person is respected by others and protected by wise and effectively enforced law," Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska emphasized.
The Ambassador of Israel, Dr. Yacov Livne, began his speech with the words: "I stand here as a representative of the Jewish state. Six million of us were murdered just for being Jews." He also mentioned several members of his family who were murdered during the Holocaust.
"I stand here as a representative of those who were labeled “Untermenschen,” their body and dignity violated, their lives taken, and their property stolen. The world conveniently ignored this persecution and slaughter, failing to grasp the dangers of indifference," the ambassador said.
"Let me emphasize - I stand here as an ambassador of a country that makes sure every day that a second holocaust will never happen again. With our partners, we must demonstrate wisdom and unity in a world that has become more dangerous and less predictable," Dr. Yacov Livne said.
In conclusion, the director of the Auschwitz Museum, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, spoke.
"We believed in a world that is more just, more friendly and more humane. In a world to be founded on human rights. We believed in memory while living in the post-war era. Today, we are witnessing a complete shift in the world as we know it,” he said.
"We are all standing at a significant turning point in history. Currently, some liberators attack other liberators. They commit acts of rape and murder. In Israel, the land of the Shoah survivors, peace seems to be nowhere in sight. Conflicts and wars have flared up on a global scale. Today, the international security system created after the war is a mere shadow of itself. Europe has been unable to unite its efforts and protect itself against the return of antisemitism, racism, xenophobia," Piotr Cywiński said.
"Acknowledging that the post-war period has not faded into oblivion, the constructed post-war identity is a constant reminder, amplifying its warnings. As the times become more complex, it is crucial to recognise the complete inseparability of memory and identity. We may have difficulty predicting the future. However, its creation begins with the choices made today, by each of us," he emphasized.
The second part of the anniversary commemorations took place at the Monument to the Victims in the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, where rabbis and clergy of various Christian denominations recited prayers, and participants of the ceremony placed candles, commemorating all the victims of Auschwitz.
Earlier on 27 January, Survivors together with the directors and staff of the Auschwitz Memorial laid wreaths in the courtyard of Block 11 at the Auschwitz I site.
Until the liberation of the camp by soldiers of the Red Army, German Nazis murdered approx. 1.1 million people in Auschwitz, mostly Jews, but also Poles, the Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities. Auschwitz is to the world today, a symbol of the Holocaust and atrocities of World War II. In 2005, the United Nations adopted 27 January as the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.