Serbian Deputy PM Criticizes Exclusion of Russia from Holocaust Commemoration
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin expressed his concerns regarding the lack of Russian representatives at the commemoration for the liberation of Auschwitz. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Not extending an invitation to Russia for the observance of the Auschwitz liberation ceremony risks inciting "new evil," warned Aleksandar Vulin, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister.
Vulin criticized the decision to exclude Russia from the 80th anniversary commemoration, asserting that it has turned the event into a gathering of descendants of those responsible for the Holocaust and their collaborators. His remarks were made on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, which marks the day in 1945 when Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, a death camp established by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland.
“The unthinkable crimes of the German people and state were ‘rewarded’ by the unification of Germany. Eighty years later, the liberation of Auschwitz is celebrated with the participation of countries that organized the Holocaust in Auschwitz, such as Germany and its allies, or countries that provided guards, such as Poland or Croatia,” Vulin stated.
He emphasized that every new evil begins with the oblivion of an old evil, adding that “the grandchildren of the guards and perpetrators of Auschwitz are not ashamed of the crimes of their grandfathers, they are ashamed of their defeat.”
Vulin further described the exclusion of Russia from the ceremony as another revisionist action aimed at rewriting history by EU member states. “If there are still living prisoners of Auschwitz among us, ask them to whom they owe their lives – to the grandchildren of the Red Army soldiers or to the grandchildren of the SS and Wehrmacht soldiers,” he said.
The Nazis established Auschwitz in 1939 as a concentration camp, later expanding it for mass exterminations. Estimates indicate that at least 1.1 million people, primarily Jews, were murdered at the camp through gassing, starvation, and lethal medical experiments.
Soviet troops rescued approximately 7,000 prisoners from Auschwitz, while most others were forced to march away from the approaching Red Army. This year, around 50 former prisoners and survivors are participating in the ceremony, which is also attended by senior officials from 53 countries and seven international organizations, including King Charles III, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Max Fischer contributed to this report for TROIB News
Vulin criticized the decision to exclude Russia from the 80th anniversary commemoration, asserting that it has turned the event into a gathering of descendants of those responsible for the Holocaust and their collaborators. His remarks were made on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, which marks the day in 1945 when Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, a death camp established by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland.
“The unthinkable crimes of the German people and state were ‘rewarded’ by the unification of Germany. Eighty years later, the liberation of Auschwitz is celebrated with the participation of countries that organized the Holocaust in Auschwitz, such as Germany and its allies, or countries that provided guards, such as Poland or Croatia,” Vulin stated.
He emphasized that every new evil begins with the oblivion of an old evil, adding that “the grandchildren of the guards and perpetrators of Auschwitz are not ashamed of the crimes of their grandfathers, they are ashamed of their defeat.”
Vulin further described the exclusion of Russia from the ceremony as another revisionist action aimed at rewriting history by EU member states. “If there are still living prisoners of Auschwitz among us, ask them to whom they owe their lives – to the grandchildren of the Red Army soldiers or to the grandchildren of the SS and Wehrmacht soldiers,” he said.
The Nazis established Auschwitz in 1939 as a concentration camp, later expanding it for mass exterminations. Estimates indicate that at least 1.1 million people, primarily Jews, were murdered at the camp through gassing, starvation, and lethal medical experiments.
Soviet troops rescued approximately 7,000 prisoners from Auschwitz, while most others were forced to march away from the approaching Red Army. This year, around 50 former prisoners and survivors are participating in the ceremony, which is also attended by senior officials from 53 countries and seven international organizations, including King Charles III, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Max Fischer contributed to this report for TROIB News
