Polish President: Auschwitz commemoration should be in Poland instead of Israel

“To me, it is precisely here, in Poland, on our soil today, occupied back then by Nazi Germany, where those ashes are scattered,” where the event should be held, Andrzej Duda said.

By World Israel News Staff

Poland’s president said that an event in Jerusalem to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz should be taking place in Poland instead of Israel.

“To me, it is precisely here, in Poland, on our soil today, occupied back then by Nazi Germany, where those ashes are scattered,” where the event should be held, Andrzej Duda said in a statement.

“This is the place of immense symbolism. Deep within my soul, I believe this is the appropriate place, the best one. I believe that one must not deprive this place of its remembrance by transferring it somewhere else.”

Duda has also refused to attend the event in Jerusalem because he will not be given the opportunity to speak.

Over 40 world leaders have confirmed their attendance at the event on January 23, titled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Anti-Semitism.”

Foreign leaders and dignitaries in attendance will include German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Prince Charles, Russian President Vladimir Putin, among other dignitaries. The American delegation will seemingly be headed by Vice-President Mike Pence, although this has yet to be confirmed.

The heads of the worldwide delegations will lay wreaths at the base of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Monument in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem in remembrance of the victims.

People worldwide will have the opportunity to watch the proceedings, which will be broadcast live via satellite and on Yad Vashem’s website and Facebook page. The broadcast will be translated simultaneously into six languages: English, Hebrew, French, German, Russian, and Spanish.