Eighty Years Ago, The Soviet Forces Liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau
On this solemn day, January 27, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
In his statement, Canadian PM Trudeau says: “Eighty years ago today, the Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp was liberated.” But by whom?
History tells us that the Soviet forces were the first to approach some of the most infamous camps, reaching Majdanek, near Lublin, Poland, in July 1944.
During the summer of 1944, they also took control of the areas containing the extermination camps of Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka—sites the Germans had dismantled in 1943 after the mass murder of most Polish Jews.
In January 1945, the Soviets liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest concentration and extermination camp. In the following months, they freed additional camps across the Baltic states and Poland.
Shortly after Germany’s surrender, Soviet forces liberated the concentration camps of Stutthof, Sachsenhausen, and Ravensbrück. Meanwhile, American forces liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp and subsequently reached Dora-Mittelbau, Flossenbürg, Dachau, and Mauthausen.
As we recount these events, it is essential to recognize the staggering role of the Soviet soldiers, who bore the brunt of the Nazi war machine and liberated countless victims from unimaginable suffering.
Yet here we are, with global leaders using this solemn occasion to obscure their complicity in the suffering of millions today. This is not remembrance; it is an insult to history and humanity. The exclusion of Russia and the sanitized narratives presented today only serve to reinforce a divided world where truth becomes a casualty of political expediency.
In today’s memorial of Auschwitz’s liberation, the echoes of history seem almost drowned out by the political opportunism and selective memory of its attendees. Leaders from nations whose hands are far from clean in contemporary global conflicts gather solemnly to commemorate a liberation led by Soviet soldiers—soldiers whose country is now excluded from these ceremonies due to the geopolitics of the present.
It is a glaring hypocrisy that while we honour those who liberated Auschwitz, we erase their descendants, Russia, from the narrative. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is condemned, but does that negate the central role Soviet forces played in defeating the Nazi regime? This revisionist approach not only distorts the truth but undermines the very lessons the Holocaust should teach us: the dangers of erasure, dehumanization, and historical amnesia.
Even more troubling is the attendance of leaders who continue to enable modern atrocities. As French President Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau stand in solemn remembrance, their countries provide military aid and unwavering diplomatic support to Israel, a state currently committing genocide against Palestinians. The parallel between the unthinkable suffering inflicted on Jews in Auschwitz and the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is both haunting and ignored—a testament to the West’s selective outrage and moral inconsistency.
Never Again: Remembering the Holocaust and Addressing Modern Injustices
The Holocaust stands as one of history’s most profound tragedies, with six million Jewish lives lost, alongside countless others, including 500,000 Roma and Sinti individuals, political dissidents, members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, and people with disabilities. The Nazi regime’s orchestrated genocide remains a stark reminder of humanity’s capacity for cruelty.
In reflecting on statements from global leaders, such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent remarks on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it’s vital to recognize both the commendable acknowledgment of past atrocities and the need for consistency and honesty in addressing present injustices.
While the Prime Minister rightly condemns the horrors of the Holocaust, he and the other Western politicians are weaponizing antisemitism while arming Israel. A staggering dissonance when juxtaposing the statements from global leaders and their support of Israeli actions in Gaza. Condemning past genocides while overlooking or indirectly supporting a current genocide committed by Israel is hypocritical, disgusting, and meaningless.
He writes in his statement: “Over the past 15 months, in the wake of Hamas’ horrifying attack against Israel and with the rise in antisemitism, Jewish people in Canada and across the world have felt unsafe in their communities, workplaces, and places of worship.”
The Prime Minister’s acknowledgment of the impact of Hamas’ attack on October 7th is important for the Israeli families who lost loved ones or are enduring the agony of having their loved ones taken hostage. However, his selective focus on these events, presenting them as if they occurred in isolation, exposes a stark hypocrisy. This one-sided narrative erases over a century of systemic violence by Israel against Palestinians—displacement, occupation, and oppression—that has perpetuated cycles of violence and resistance.
By condemning October 7th while remaining silent on decades of state-driven oppression and on the disproportional response to this act of violence with genocide, the Prime Minister fails to provide a balanced perspective.
This selective outrage risks perpetuating injustice, cloaked under the guise of combating antisemitism and hate, while neglecting the broader context of human rights violations, historical inequities, the ongoing genocide, and the use of “places of worship” to sell illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank!
True commitment to the principle of “Never again” requires vigilance against all forms of systemic violence and oppression, regardless of the perpetrators. “Never again” applies to all human beings.
Combating antisemitism remains an essential endeavour. Hatred and bigotry toward Jewish individuals have no place in any society. However, it’s equally important to ensure that the fight against antisemitism is not misused to shield Israel or any Western state from accountability for their actions.
Protecting human rights and upholding international law must be universal principles, applied consistently to all nations.
As we honour the memory of the Holocaust’s victims, it is imperative to confront contemporary issues that echo the past’s injustices. The Western-backed genocide in Gaza today demands our voice!
The Israeli government’s actions against Palestinians have been characterized as genocidal—a term that carries the weight of historical atrocities. This perspective emphasizes that the critique is directed toward political ideologies and actions, specifically the Israeli government and Zionism, rather than Judaism as a faith or Jewish people as a whole.
Distinguishing between a religion and the policies enacted by a state is crucial to ensuring that legitimate criticism does not conflate with antisemitism. It is important to maintain a clear distinction between genuine antisemitic acts and critiques of state policies.
The commitment to combating antisemitism and hate is crucial, yet it is equally important to scrutinize the actions of the Canadian government and the Western governments. We are witnessing the troubling weaponization of antisemitism and the criminalization of efforts to uphold human rights.
The atrocities of the Nazi regime were enabled by the complicity, denial, and indifference of those who “did not want to know” and politicians complicit in genocide. This deliberate ignorance allowed the machinery of genocide to operate unimpeded. There are no excuses. The Israel-Western-backed genocide is live on our phones.
Rephrasing the words of our PM today:
“As media and those who control its platforms seek to censure the horrors of Gaza and platform Hasbara denialism, it is now more important than ever to remember. To remember the hate and the cruelty of the crimes against Palestinian children and women. To remember, listen, and re-tell the stories of Palestinian survivors and Palestinian journalists while they’re still with us, because Israel is still committing genocide. To remember those who risked and gave their lives to save countless others, like doctors, nurses, first aid responders, and peacekeepers. To remember our solemn vow as humanity: Never forget. Never again for all.”
Today, the remembrance of the liberation of these camps in 1945 is a profound revelation of the depths of human cruelty. It serves as a reminder that silence, apathy, and willful ignorance can enable atrocities, whether in the gas chambers of Auschwitz or in the besieged neighbourhoods of Gaza today.
If we are to genuinely honour the victims, we must confront these lessons with unwavering honesty and resolve.
Never forget. Never again—for all. Speak out against genocide and denialism.
“I realize how painful – even unthinkable – it will be for many Jews to lift up the lessons of International Holocaust Remembrance Day to suggest Israel that is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. But as I suggested in my sermon this past Yom Kippur, we mustfind the courage to say out loud the words that must be spoken. If this particular day is truly is to be a day for us to apply the “lessons of the Holocaust in order to help to prevent future acts of genocide,” it is all the more critical for us to speak out and name a genocide that is literally unfolding before us in real time. No matter how uncomfortable or painful the prospect.” Rabbi Brant Rosen and Shalom Rav on January 27, 2024.
Jewish People Who Oppose The Genocide in Gaza
On Holocaust Memorial Day, Double Down News interviewed Holocaust survivors and Jews who had relatives who died in Auschwitz. They are condemning the genocide that Israel is committing against Palestinians.
They are saying, “Not in my name.”
