Holocaust victims honoured in Polish Sejm

Polish politicians on Friday observed a moment of silence to honour victims of the Holocaust. It was the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz (known in Polish as Oświęcim) concentration camp, and was the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust. The Auschwitz-Birkenau camp was liberated on January 27, 1945. The Speaker of the Sejm, Marek Kuchciński spoke in honour of the special day. “The UN General Assembly elected the date of the commemoration [of January 27], the anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Red Army,” Kuchciński said in the Polish parliament. Close to one million people of Jewish origin lost their lives at the Oświęcim camp, while millions more perished in other camps across Poland, including Sobibor, Majdanek, Treblinka and Bełżak. The United Nations designated the special day of commemoration in 2005.