Krakow, 27 January 2025 (MIA) – The day itself is a day that marks the liberation of not only over 7,000 prisoners, but also the liberation of humanity, President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova said yesterday speaking about the significance of Monday’s observance of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz death camp.

She noted that people being aware about evil is key in preventing atrocities of this extent. When people are aware of the evil, they always say: “Never again!”

Siljanovska Davkova, who is attending the commemoration at the invitation of the European Jewish Congress, said the number of liberated prisoners, somewhere between 7,100 and 7,600 depending on the sources, is small compared to all Holocaust victims – 6 million, including more than one million from Auschwitz. But their story and message are important.

When faced with what people had done, the President said, we become aware of the horror humanity is capable of doing. “What has been concerning me is what had led to this, how it is possible for such a thing to happen, something the Jews call a calamity, the holocaust. It is not only a human disaster, it is a disaster of humanity, a disaster of the good, a disaster of moral and the victory of evil.”

“I hope we learned some lessons in the past 80 years and that the motto ‘Never again’ will truly mean exactly that – never again.”

An initiative for annual visits to Treblinka

The President also touched on the tragic destiny of Macedonian Jews, who were deported to Treblinka death camp. “What is shocking is the fact that only a few months after the deportation, the Treblinka camp was closed. Can you imagine what had happened to the 7,144 Macedonian Jews,” Siljanovska Davkova said. 

The Macedonian Jews, she added, are part of our identity and we should set up a tradition of organized visits to Treblinka.

According to her, it would be a way to say that “as long as we are alive and the next generation will never ever allow something like it to happen again.”

Memory as collective responsibility 

The Macedonian President said that the Holocaust has to be part of the educational and social awareness.

“There mustn’t be a child and young person or an adult that don’t know what the Holocaust is. The memory has to be nourished because it faces being erased or relativized,” Siljanovska Davkova stressed.

She warned of the dangers of relativizing evil. “Everything starts with disputing figures, events, ultimately leading to someone perhaps thinking of erasing evil. Evil must not be forgotten.”

Attending the Auschwitz liberation observances is an opportunity for collective epiphany, where “we all became aware that evil is opposed by good.” “We all share a responsibility not to allow such atrocities happen again.”

Fifty-four international delegations, including the presidents of Italy, France and Germany, will attend today’s ceremony. This commemoration will feature no political speeches. Only survivors of the camp will speak, as, according to museum director Piotr Cywiński, it may be the last big commemoration where they can personally share their stories.

The Auschwitz death camp, liberated on 27 January 1945, by Soviet troops, is a symbol of the suffering during the Holocaust. Of the approximately 1.3 million people sent to the camp, more than 1.1 million were murdered, mostly Jews.

Photo: MIA