Today in History: Liberation of Auschwitz, International Holocaust Remembrance Day
(TF)
On the 27th
of January in 1945, Auschwitz concentration camp, the Nazi
concentration camp where more than a million people were murdered, was
liberated by the Red Army. Although most of the prisoners had been forced onto
a death march, about 7,000 were left behind.
The soldiers reacted in shock and disbelief to the evidence of Nazi atrocities. In addition to burying the dead, the Allied forces
attempted to help and comfort the survivors with food, clothing, and medical
assistance.
Ivan Martinushkin, 96, is one of the last remaining Russian soldiers
who liberated Auschwitz. He shared the following in an interview with Euro News.
“We
approached one group, they stood by the barracks. People were exhausted, worn
to a shadow, darkened, emaciated by hunger, hollow-cheeked.”
"We
did not understand their language at all. But when we looked in their eyes we
saw that they understand one thing - the hell is over."
"And we had
this feeling that we brought liberation to those people."
This date is recognized as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.