Holocaust memorial day – latest: King makes ‘deeply personal pilgrimage’ to Auschwitz

The Holocaust Educational Trust’s chief executive has described how “the lessons of the Holocaust remain as urgent as ever”.

Karen Pollock CBE said: “This year, on Holocaust Memorial Day, we come together to mark 80 years since the liberation of the extermination and concentration camps of Europe. We remember the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators and we honour those who survived and rebuilt their lives after enduring unimaginable horrors.

“The images and accounts that emerged at liberation revealed the full scale of the Nazis’ attempt to annihilate the Jewish people and this gave rise to the enduring call ‘Never Again.’ This phrase embodies the hope that the Holocaust would serve as a stark warning to future generations of the consequences of unchecked hatred and antisemitism.

“As we mark this significant anniversary, the lessons of the Holocaust remain as urgent as ever. With survivors becoming fewer and frailer, and with antisemitism continuing to surge across the world – we must all commit to remembering the six million Jewish victims and must take action to ensure anti-Jewish racism is never again allowed to thrive.”

The service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial is set to take place between 3pm and 5pm (UK time), with foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors invited.

Alongside King Charles, the other dignitaries expected to attend include:

• France’s President Emmanuel Macron
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
• King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
• Spain’s King Philip VI and Queen Letizia
• Irish premier Micheal Martin
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
• Polish president Andrzej Duda

Today, I am going to be at Auschwitz-Birkenau, 80 years after its gates were opened and the world learnt what was happening to us, the Jews of Europe.

I will stand at that place where a million people were murdered. People like me, like my family.

I will be standing with other survivors – many of whom were imprisoned in that ghastly place.

The King will travel to Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau today.

Charles has been invited to a service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial with foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors .

The ceremony will be held in front of the infamous gates of the former Nazi concentration camp which had the words Arbeit Macht Frei – “work sets you free” – above it.

Auschwitz survivors will address the invited guests who are expected to include France’s President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Spain’s King Philip VI and Queen Letizia.

Survivors will place a light in front of a freight train carriage – a symbol of the event – and the King with other heads of state and Government will lay lights in memory of those who died during the Holocaust.

After the ceremony Charles will walk through the gates to view personal items confiscated from victims when they entered the camp and lay a wreath at a reconstruction of the Death Wall, the site where several thousand people, mainly Polish political prisoners, were executed.

Holocaust Memorial Day is a day for everyone to remember the millions of people lost in the Holocaust under Nazi Persecution.

More than a million people, mostly Jews but also Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and other nationalities, were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War as part of the Holocaust in which six million Jewish men, women and children were killed.

It is also a day to remember the genocides which followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.

This year’s theme is For a Better Future.

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust details the 2025 theme: “This Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.

“80 years on from the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, antisemitism (anti-Jewish hatred) has increased significantly in the UK and globally following the 7 October attacks in Israel by Hamas and the subsequent war in Gaza. Extremists are exploiting the situation to stir up anti-Muslim hatred in the UK. Many UK communities are feeling vulnerable, with hostility and suspicion of others rising. We hope that HMD 2025 can be an opportunity for people to come together, learn both from and about the past, and take actions to make a better future for all.

“There are many things we can all do to create a better future. We can speak up against Holocaust and genocide denial and distortion; we can challenge prejudice; we can encourage others to learn about the Holocaust and more recent genocides. There are some practical suggestions both at the end of this paper and here: Take Action for a Better Future.”

Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front.

They opened the gates of the Nazi concentration camp on 27 January 1945.

More than a million people, mostly Jews but also Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and other nationalities, were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau during the Second World War.

The atrocities were committed as part of the Holocaust in which six million Jewish men, women and children were killed.

The King will become the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau when he tours the former Nazi concentration camp to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation.

Charles will travel to Poland to commemorate the milestone with foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors invited to a service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial.

During a recent Buckingham Palace reception ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day – held annually on January 27, the day Auschwitz was liberated – the King said: “I feel I must go for the 80th anniversary, (it’s) so important.”