Survivors return to Auschwitz 75 years after liberation

Most of the 1.1 million people murdered by the Nazi German forces at the camp were Jewish, but among those imprisoned there were also Poles and Russians. In pic: The site of the former Nazi German concentration camp Auschwitz.

Updated: January 29, 2020 08:27 IST

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Survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp gathered Monday for commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp. In pic: The site of the former Nazi German concentration camp Auschwitz is pictured during the ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp in Oswiecim, Poland. (REUTERS)

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Most of the 1.1 million people murdered by the Nazi German forces at the camp were Jewish, but among those imprisoned there were also Poles and Russians. In pic: The site of the former Nazi German concentration camp Auschwitz. (REUTERS)

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On the eve of the commemorations, survivors, many leaning on their children and grandchildren for support, walked through the place where they had been brought in on cattle cars and suffered hunger, illness and near death. In pic: A person lights a candle at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland. (AP)

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Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet army on Jan. 27, 1945. In pic: A survivor reacts at the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz as he attends a wreath-laying ceremony. (Gazeta via REUTERS)

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Organizers of the event in Poland, the Auschwitz-Birkenau state memorial museum and the World Jewish Congress, have sought to keep the spotlight on survivors. In pic: Participants, including Poland's President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda, visit the Monument to the Victims at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. (Gazeta via REUTERS)

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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Holocaust survivor Renee Salt arrive to attend the ceremony of unveiling a plaque informing about financial support of London to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. (REUTERS)

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A 96-year-old survivor, Jeanette Spiegel, was 20 when she was brought to Auschwitz, where she spent 9 months. Today she lives in New York and is fearful of rising anti-Semitic violence in the US. In pic: Survivors and other guests arrive to attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the "death wall" at the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz. (REUTERS)