Remembering Auschwitz: The Legacy of the Holocaust Eight Decades On

Survivors, now in their 90s, prepare to join world leaders on 27 January to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet forces. The camp, responsible for the deaths of approximately 1.1 million people, stands as a somber reminder of the Holocaust and the world's ongoing vow to remember.

Eighty years ago, the Soviet Red Army liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of history's most notorious concentration camps, where over 1.1 million individuals lost their lives during the Holocaust. On January 27, survivors—now mostly in their 90s—will come together with world leaders to honor those who suffered and perished there. Auschwitz was a focal point of the Nazis' systematic extermination of the Jewish population across Europe, with nearly one million Jews among the deceased, alongside numerous Poles, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war.

When Soviet troops arrived in 1945, only about 7,000 prisoners remained alive, as many had already been forced on brutal "death marches" during the Nazis’ retreat. Primo Levi, an Italian survivor who encountered the liberating soldiers, later recounted their somber expressions and the overwhelming guilt associated with the horrors they witnessed. Ivan Martynushkin, a soldier, reflected on the hope shining in the eyes of the few remaining survivors who had endured unspeakable deprivation.

The Nazis began their campaign of extermination with the ascendance to power in Germany in 1933, stripping Jews and other targeted groups of their rights and freedoms, culminating in the brutal invasion and occupation of Poland in 1939. By 1941, the Nazis initiated mass shootings through Einsatzgruppen units, ultimately leading to the establishment of gas vans and gas chambers as more efficient means of mass murder.

Auschwitz, initially a Polish army barracks, was repurposed into a horrific site of imprisonment and death under the control of commandant Rudolf Höss, who introduced the distorted philosophy that “work sets you free.” Over time, the camp expanded substantially, incorporating Auschwitz II-Birkenau which became infamous for mass extermination through gas chambers and crematoria.

Upon arrival at the camp, countless victims were sorted; many were sent to their deaths upon stepping off the transport trains, while others were enslaved as forced laborers in nearby factories. Inhumane conditions reigned, with forced decompositions of remains conducted by fellow prisoners in a grotesque cycle of inhumanity designed to hide Nazi atrocities.

In the final months before liberation, as the Red Army drew nearer, Nazi officials attempted to obliterate evidence of their crimes. Many prisoners were marched away as they evacuated. When Soviet forces finally liberated the camp, they found a gut-wrenching scene of despair—the remnants of lives taken too soon, leaving behind clothes, personal items, and the ashes of lost souls.

As we approach this anniversary, scholars and survivors alike reflect on the lessons of the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel, a renowned survivor, remarked on the profound impact of Auschwitz, recognizing it as a turning point for humanity and a lasting call to remember the past while ensuring “nothing will ever be the same.”