Millions of victims honoured on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, where the world remembers and honours millions of victims.

Today marks 74 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, where according to the Auschwitz Memorial Museum, 7,000 prisoners including 700 children, were freed by the Soviet army. In 2005, the UN declared this day International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

View this post on Instagram

Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The end of the rail line, the end of the selection platform. Flowers left by visitors. We hope every person who visits the Memorial becomes a messenger of the story of Auschwitz as not everyone is able to pay the visit. Share your experiences of encountering the authentic site with others! --- Photo by @_tomas_ayala --- #Auschwitz #Birkenau #AuschwitzMemorial #history #Holocaust #Shoah #Jews #Poles #Gypsies #Roma #genocide #Nazi #Germany #concentrationcamp #extermination #platform #rails #gate #flowers #memory #museum #memorial #Poland #igerspoland #UNESCO #worldheritage #worldHeritagelist @unesco #visitors

A post shared by Auschwitz Memorial and Museum (@auschwitzmemorial) on Oct 8, 2018 at 10:47pm PDT

"Today, we honour the six million Jewish men, women and children who were systematically killed, along with millions of others, because of their religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, disability or political beliefs,” said John Horgan, premier of British Columbia.

"British Columbians join millions of people around the world to say 'never again' and stand together against anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance.Our government will always speak out against hate and prejudice, and stand up for diversity, inclusion and mutual respect, to make life better for every person, in every community."

View this post on Instagram

On January 27, 1945 the German Nazi concentration and extermination Auschwitz-Birkenau camp was liberated. Today we commemorate the 73rd anniversary of this event. At around 9 a.m. the first Soviet soldier from a reconnaissance unit of the 100th Infantry Division appeared on the grounds of the prisoners' infirmary in Monowitz. The entire division arrived half an hour later. The same day a military doctor arrived and began to organize assistance. In the afternoon soldiers of the Red Army entered the vicinity of the Auschwitz main camp and Birkenau. Near the main camp they met resistance from retreating German units. 231 Red Army soldiers died in close combat for the liberation of Auschwitz, Birkenau and Monowitz. Two of them died in front of the gates of Auschwitz main camp. One of them was Lieutenant Gilmudin Badryjewicz Baszirow. The first Red Army troops arrived in Birkenau and Auschwitz at around 3 p.m. and were joyfully greeted by the liberated prisoners. After the removal of mines from the surrounding area, soldiers of the 60th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front marched into the camp and brought freedom to the prisoners who were still alive. On the grounds of the main camp were 48 corpses and in Birkenau over 600 corpses of male and female prisoners who were shot or died in the last few days. At the time of the Red Army's arrival there were 7,000 sick and exhausted prisoners in the Auschwitz, Birkenau and Monowitz camps. #auschwitz #Birkenau #Auschwitzmemorial #Auschwitz74 #HMD2019

A post shared by Auschwitz Memorial and Museum (@auschwitzmemorial) on Jan 26, 2019 at 10:13pm PST

“We must also acknowledge Canada’s own history of anti-Semitism, and its devastating results. In November, the Government issued a long-overdue apology for Canada’s inaction and apathy toward Jews during the Nazi era. Our country’s disgraceful ‘none is too many’ immigration policy doomed many Jews to Nazi death camps, including hundreds of Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis.,” said Prime minister Justin Trudeau. “No words will ever erase this tragedy – but it is our sincere hope that this apology will help ensure the lessons we have learned are never forgotten.”