On January 27, King Charles III will travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the largest WWII concentration camp and to honor the victims of the Holocaust. This significant date, known as Liberation Day, commemorates the day in 1945 when the remaining prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau were freed by Soviet forces.
Since then, January 27 has been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day dedicated to remembering the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, along with all others persecuted by the Nazi regime.
King Charles will be joined by other international leaders for memorial events at the Auschwitz-Birkenau site, a solemn occasion to reflect on the atrocities of the Holocaust. His visit comes as no surprise, given his role as patron of the U.K.’s Holocaust Memorial Day Trust since 2017. The Trust is a national charity that supports activities across the U.K. to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
In addition to his visit to Poland, King Charles is set to host a Holocaust education event at Buckingham Palace, where concentration camp survivor Manfred Goldberg will share his powerful story with attendees.
Last year, the King marked Holocaust Memorial Day with a poignant statement, emphasizing the theme “The Fragility of Freedom.” He reminded the world how easily freedom can be lost and the importance of learning from those who bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust. In his message, he also stressed the ongoing relevance of these lessons in combating modern-day violence and cruelty.
