King wipes away tears as he becomes first British head of state to visit Auschwitz on Holocaust Memorial Day
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
The King wiped away tears as he became the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, joining dignitaries from around the world to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp on Holocaust Memorial Day.
The British monarch was seen shedding a tear during a service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial in Poland on Monday afternoon. He bowed his head as he placed a candle at the site on behalf of the UK, alongside foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors.
Earlier, Charles visited the heart of Krakow’s Jewish community, speaking with Holocaust survivors and issuing a warning to the world that remembering the “evils of the past remains a vital task” as he met those who lived through one of humanity’s darkest hours.
In the speech to those gathered at the Jewish Community Centre, he described 27 January – the day Auschwitz was liberated by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front in 1945 – as “a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world”.
He said the testimony of Holocaust survivors teaches us to “never be a bystander in the face of violence and hate” and called for knowledge to be used to inspire people to “build a kinder and more compassionate world”.
Holocaust Memorial Day is held annually to remember the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution and those who died in subsequent genocides.
The King later joined France’s president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Spain’s King Philip VI and Queen Letizia, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at a ceremony held in front of the infamous gates of the former Nazi concentration camp, which had the words Arbeit Macht Frei – “work sets you free” – above it.
Among the Holocaust survivors who addressed the audience was Nova Friedman, who said she spoke for the children and told the guests she was six years old when she was liberated from the Nazi death camp.
She described her journey to Auschwitz, explaining: “Hungry, thirsty and very terrified, I held on tightly to my mother’s hand in the dark cattle car for countless hours while the cries and the prayers of so many desperate women permeated my soul and haunt me to this day.
“Finally, we arrived at Auschwitz, a gloomy Sunday with a sky obscured by smoke and a terrible stink hung in the air, and there were rows and rows of naked women all around me.”
During her time in the camp, she thought it was “normal” to die if you were a Jewish child.
She went on to urge the guests: “We all, all of us, must reawaken our collective consciousness to transform this violence, anger, hatred and malignancy, that has so powerfully gripped our society, into a humane and just world. Before this terrible, terrible negative forces will destroy us all.”
Survivors then placed a light in front of a freight train carriage – a symbol of the event – and the King, alongside other heads of state and governments, laid lights in memory of those who died during the Holocaust.
After the ceremony, Charles walked through the gates to view personal items confiscated from victims when they entered the camp and laid a wreath at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.
Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales hugged and held hands with Holocaust survivors as she and her husband attended official commemorations to mark Holocaust Memorial Day at Guildhall in central London, with the Prince of Wales describing their attendance as “a great honour”.
William, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, and Kate, wearing all black, were greeted on arrival by Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and its chair of trustees Laura Marks.
Speaking to Ms Marks-Woldman, Kate described the commemorations as “so important”, adding: “It is great to be here today with my husband.”
Keir Starmer was also in attendance at the event, along with faith and civic leaders and survivors of more recent genocides.
Speaking at the service, the prime minister said the Holocaust was a “collective endeavour” by ordinary people “consumed by the hatred of difference”.
It is now a collective endeavour for “all of us” to defeat the “hatred we stand against today”, Sir Keir said in his speech.
He spoke of his “harrowing” visit to Block 27 at Auschwitz with his wife Victoria earlier this month to search for members of her family in the Book of Names.
