Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda and his wife Diana Nausėdienė attended a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland on the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. Fifty heads of state, royal family members, government representatives and ambassadors attended the ceremony.

“I came to Oświęcim, to Poland, to express sincere respect for the millions of Jews who lost their lives during the Holocaust in World War II. I bow down in memory as well of more than two hundred thousand victims of our nation. This is a tragedy for Lithuania and the entire world. We cannot bring the innocent victims back to life, nor can we minimize the pain their families experienced. All we can is to preserve the memory of these people and to seek for historical justice,” the Lithuanian president said.

He said the occupation of countries by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II had deadly consequences, ripping apart countries and social structures, setting communities against one another and kindling revenge, hatred and aggression. “Let’s not allow this to repeat itself and let’s recognize the powers which are sowing [discord and hate],” he said.

Holocaust survivors and relatives shared their painful stories and memories at the ceremony, as did the director of the Auschwitz museum. World leaders paid honor to the memory of the victims with a prayer and paid their respects at a monument to their memory.

Communications group, Lithuanian President’s Office