Georgian PM pays tribute to Holocaust victims on Auschwitz liberation date

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust in comments for the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

In a message joining remembrances from around the world for those imprisoned, used in forced labour and killed during the years of World War II, Garibashvili also highlighted survivors of camps set up by Nazi German authorities across Europe.

Today, together with the entire international community, we honour the memory of the millions of victims of the Holocaust. We also pay special respect to those who miraculously survived the most tragic event in human history”, Garibashvili said. 

The PM added the date reminded the world to “never allow the repetition of such a tragedy and [about] our commitment to oppose any manifestation of hatred, to build a safer and freer world”.

Auschwitz was the largest of the concentration camps set up under the German occupation of Europe. Built in Poland, the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex comprised around 40 camps where about 1.3 million people were sent throughout the years of the conflict, with 1.1 million murdered.

The complex was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945, with its site now used as a memorial museum that hosts visits from around the world and is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.