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| Auschwitz 70th anniversary: Survivors mark camp liberation | Auschwitz 70th anniversary: Survivors mark camp liberation |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| About 300 Auschwitz survivors have gathered at the site of the former Nazi death camp to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation. | About 300 Auschwitz survivors have gathered at the site of the former Nazi death camp to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation. |
| The commemoration will be held at the site in southern Poland where 1.1 million people, the vast majority Jews, were killed between 1940 and 1945. | |
| It is expected to be the last major anniversary event that survivors are able to attend in considerable numbers. | It is expected to be the last major anniversary event that survivors are able to attend in considerable numbers. |
| Heads of state and representatives from wartime Allies will also be present. | |
| Events include the laying of a wreath, a church service, and the lighting of candles at a memorial in the former death camp of Birkenau, which was part of the Auschwitz complex. | Events include the laying of a wreath, a church service, and the lighting of candles at a memorial in the former death camp of Birkenau, which was part of the Auschwitz complex. |
| Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by the Red Army of the Soviet Union on 27 January 1945. It opened as a museum in 1947. | Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by the Red Army of the Soviet Union on 27 January 1945. It opened as a museum in 1947. |
| Renee Salt, 85, from north London, is among the survivors travelling to Tuesday's commemoration. | |
| She visited the camp for the first time 10 years ago and "buried the ghosts", she told the BBC, and has been going back ever since. | She visited the camp for the first time 10 years ago and "buried the ghosts", she told the BBC, and has been going back ever since. |
| "I'll do it for as long as I can. Why? There are still a lot of Holocaust deniers, the world over, and if we don't speak out, the world won't know what happened." | "I'll do it for as long as I can. Why? There are still a lot of Holocaust deniers, the world over, and if we don't speak out, the world won't know what happened." |
| On Tuesday the Russian defence ministry published what it said were archive documents about the liberation of Auschwitz. | |
| They include an account by Gen Kramnikov of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front, whose soldiers opened the gates, about "endless crowds of people" leaving the death camp. | |
| "They all look extremely exhausted, grey-haired old men, youths, women with young babies and teenagers, nearly all of them half-naked," the general wrote. | |
| "The first indications are that in Auschwitz hundreds of thousands of prisoners have been worked to death, burned or shot dead." | |
| German President Joachim Gauck and French President Francois Hollande are among the national leaders travelling to Poland for the anniversary. | German President Joachim Gauck and French President Francois Hollande are among the national leaders travelling to Poland for the anniversary. |
| But Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending, amid a row with Poland over the commemoration and linked to Russia's recent intervention in Ukraine. | |
| The museum has long struggled to find funding for its upkeep, though the the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation recently said it had almost reached its goal of raising an endowment of more than $150m (£100m). | The museum has long struggled to find funding for its upkeep, though the the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation recently said it had almost reached its goal of raising an endowment of more than $150m (£100m). |
| On the eve of the anniversary, German Chancellor Angela Merkel drew attention to discrimination against Jews in contemporary Europe, saying it was a "disgrace" that Jews faced insults, threats and violence in Germany. | |
| "We've got to fight anti-Semitism and all racism from the outset," she said at a memorial event in Berlin. | "We've got to fight anti-Semitism and all racism from the outset," she said at a memorial event in Berlin. |
| "We've got to constantly be on guard to protect our freedom, democracy and rule of law." | "We've got to constantly be on guard to protect our freedom, democracy and rule of law." |
| Are you related to a survivor or a survivor attending the commemoration? If so, what are your memories? You can share your pictures by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you related to a survivor or a survivor attending the commemoration? If so, what are your memories? You can share your pictures by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
| If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number. | If you would be happy to speak further to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number. |
| Have your say | Have your say |