Britain's King Charles to attend Auschwitz liberation anniversary
King Charles III will take part in the 80th liberation anniversary of the World War Two German Nazi death camp Auschwitz in southern Poland on January 27, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
"The King will attend a commemoration service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial in Poland, marking 80 years since the liberation of the former German Nazi concentration camp on 27th January 1945," Buckingham Palace wrote on its website on Monday.
Global news agencies observe that the visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau will be the first ever by a British monarch.
It will be Charles III's first visit to Poland since he took over the throne in 2022. He is also scheduled to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The Auschwitz Museum expects that the observances will be attended by a group of several dozen former camp inmates. Around 3,000 guests are expected to take part in the main ceremony on January 27.
The Auschwitz camp was established by the Germans in 1940, initially for the imprisonment of Poles. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was opened two years later and became the main site for the mass extermination of Jews. There was also a network of sub-camps in the complex. At least 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz, mainly Jews, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities.
It was liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945. In 1947, the camp was declared a national memorial site. (PAP)
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