King Charles makes history with 'deeply personal' visit to Auschwitz while Prince William is set to lead poignant service in London to mark Holocaust Memorial Day
King Charles III will pay an emotional visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau today, where he will say how the testimony of Holocaust survivors teaches us 'to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate'.
The monarch will become the first British head of state to visit the former Nazi concentration camp during a tour to mark the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
Charles will travel to Poland on Holocaust Memorial Day to commemorate the milestone with foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors invited to a service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial.
Prince William meanwhile will attend official commemorations in London to mark the anniversary, at which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is also expected to speak.
The two are then set to hold a private meeting following the event. According to convention, the heir to the throne meets with the British Prime Minister annually – but as it is a private meeting, there will be no public read-out of their discussions.
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 Jews were killed.
Before the official ceremony at Auschwitz, the King - who is a campaigner on inter-faith and community harmony - will also make a speech at a Jewish charity event.
The trip has been described by royal sources as a 'deeply personal pilgrimage' for the King, and a 'particularly poignant' visit.
Buckingham Palace said the theme of his address will be about how the testimony of survivors teaches us 'to cherish our freedom, to challenge prejudice and never to be a bystander in the face of violence and hate'.
King Charles III after a church service at St Mary the Virgin in Flitcham, Norfolk, yesterday
Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning
Polish President Andrzej Duda walks next to barbed wire fences at Auschwitz-Birkenau today
Charles will also say that it is our collective duty, in a world filled with 'turmoil and strife' to learn the lessons of history.
The King will add: 'The act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task. In so doing, we inform our present and shape our future.'
Auschwitz was liberated by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front who opened the gates on January 27, 1945.
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.
Charles is also expected to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda during his brief visit.
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.
Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning
A Holocaust survivor attends a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning
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.
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.'
It comes as Sir Keir spoke of the 'collective endeavour' to defeat the 'hatred of difference'.
He warned a similar atrocity could happen in the future unless society upholds its duty to 'make 'never again' finally mean what it says'.
In a statement, Sir Keir paid tribute to the six million Jewish people murdered by the Nazi regime and renewed his commitment to ensure all schools across the country teach students about the genocide.
'The Holocaust was a collective endeavour by thousands of ordinary people utterly consumed by the hatred of difference,' Sir Keir said.
'That is the hatred we stand against today and it is a collective endeavour for all of us to defeat it.
'We must start by remembering the six million Jewish victims and by defending the truth against anyone who would deny it.'
Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning
A woman walks at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration camp today
The Prime Minister said 'as we remember, we must also act,' pointing to other atrocities in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur which followed the Holocaust.
'Today, we have to make those words mean more. We will make Holocaust education a truly national endeavour,' he said.
'We will ensure all schools teach it and seek to give every young person the opportunity to hear a recorded survivor testimony, because by learning from survivors we can develop that empathy for others and that appreciation of our common humanity, which is the ultimate way to defeat the hatred of difference.
'It happened, it can happen again: that is the warning of the Holocaust to us all. And it's why it is a duty for all of us to make 'never again' finally mean what it says: never again.'
The Prime Minister also visited Auschwitz earlier this month, where he vowed to fight the 'poison of antisemitism'.
Last Wednesday, he welcomed a group of survivors and their families to Downing Street, describing the meeting as 'an incredible privilege' and praising their 'sheer and remarkable courage'.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch spoke of the importance of confronting 'the resurgence of antisemitism today' while reflecting on the Holocaust as a 'unique evil in human history.'
People walk at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration camp today
Holocaust survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau this morning
'This year, we solemnly commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We must continue to honour the memory of the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were brutally murdered in the Holocaust,' she said.
'As the Holocaust recedes from living memory, it is imperative that we listen to the testimonies of the remaining survivors and ensure their stories are passed on to future generations.
'While we reflect on the unimaginable horrors that antisemitism has wrought in the past, we must also confront the resurgence of antisemitism today.
'Globally, we have witnessed the abduction of Jews, violent riots, and attacks on synagogues.
'Alarmingly, antisemitism is on the rise here in the UK as well. The Jewish community has significantly enriched our nation, and their traditions, history, and resilience are integral to Britain's diverse and vibrant identity.
'Yet, we see weekly marches spewing modern-day hatred of Jews. Antisemitism, often disguised as 'anti-Zionism,' is prevalent on our streets and in our universities.
'The Holocaust stands as a unique evil in human history. It is crucial that we learn its lessons and continue to combat antisemitism, ensuring that 'never again' truly means never again.'
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged vigilance in defending 'peace, human rights and compassion' and guarding against 'antisemitism, hatred, discrimination and oppression'.
Museum guards carry wreaths ahead of a ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp today
Men clean up this morning ahead of the anniversary ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau
'80 years ago, seven thousand people were finally liberated from Auschwitz. Free at last, after years of unimaginable misery,' he said in a statement.
'In the years before, 1.1 million people had been murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz alone - mostly Jews.
'As we commemorate 80 years since Britain and her allies defeated the Nazis and ended the Holocaust, we must never forget those appalling atrocities.
'We must never forget how six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis; how so much inhumanity was inflicted on humans by humans.'
He paid tribute to Lily Ebert, a Holocaust survivor and memoirist who died last October.
'Lily wrote about a banknote, given to her by an American soldier after the liberation. He'd written on it: 'A start to a new life. Good luck and happiness,'' Sir Ed said.
'She wrote: 'This was something I knew I'd keep forever, a reminder, after all the cruelty we'd endured, that people could be compassionate. There was some hope and humanity left in the world'.
'We must remember that too, and live up to the positive vision Lily could see, even after so much darkness.'
