Auschwitz camp and the slogan at the entrance – Arbeit macht frei, Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto / Shutterstock
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called it “shameful” to ignore the USSR’s contribution to the liberation of Nazi concentration camps and the lack of invitations for relatives of Soviet soldiers to official events marking the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Who took part in the ceremony?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, King Charles III of Great Britain, President of France Emmanuel Macron, President of Poland Andrzej Duda and other world leaders attended the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in Poland.
Russia, as the successor to the USSR, was not invited because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Putin’s position
“This is such a strange, shameful thing,” Putin said in an interview with Russian state television. He stressed that even if he had not been personally invited, the organisers could have shown “a little more tact” and included the families of Soviet veterans in the guest list.
The historical role of the USSR
In 1944-1945, the Red Army liberated a number of Nazi camps, including Majdanek, Auschwitz, Stuttgof, Sachsenhausen, and Ravensbrück. At the same time, American troops liberated Buchenwald and the British liberated Bergen-Belsen.
According to the Auschwitz Museum, more than 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, died in the camp as a result of gas executions, starvation, cold, and disease. The victims also included Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and other groups persecuted by the Nazis.
