80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz: A Day of Remembrance and Reflection
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp. It is also International Holocaust Memorial Day, and I, like many others whose family history intertwines with this dark chapter of history, am thinking about family members who perished during the Holocaust.
The Importance of Preserving the Memory of the Victims and Survivors
As fewer and fewer people who experienced the Holocaust are with us to tell their stories, preserving the memory of the victims and helping to tell the stories of survivors is more crucial than ever. Survivors like 103-year-old Margot Friedländer, whose family were killed in Auschwitz, have spent the last decade helping people understand the lessons of the past, while stressing the importance of humanity, responsibility, and compassion in the face of hate and intolerance.
Digitization Efforts and the "Auschwitz in Front of Your Eyes" Project
This year, the decade-long partnership between the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archive and Google Arts & Culture supports and amplifies the Memorial’s vital digitization efforts that will commemorate and share stories of victims and survivors of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Today, we are publishing a selection of previously unseen artworks created in secret by prisoners like Halina Ołomucka and Jerzy Zieleziński that document the unimaginable suffering, but also reveal hope and resilience. This is the first step in a project to digitize thousands of artifacts that tell the devastating experiences of those who suffered in Auschwitz.
Supporting the "Auschwitz in Front of Your Eyes" Project
Through a $1 million Google.org grant, we are also supporting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation’s development of the "Auschwitz in Front of Your Eyes" project, which will make the museum’s live online guided tour experience accessible to everyone, everywhere. Our support will help evolve the technological platform and its accessibility, including introducing live captioning and AI-based translation into multiple languages, as well as partnering with schools to increase access for students.
Building on Past Collaborations
This work builds on past Google and Google Arts & Culture work with organizations like Yad Vashem, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Polish History Museum, and the Jewish Museum Berlin to preserve and amplify the stories, history, and experiences of Jewish people and others impacted by the horrors of the Holocaust.
Commemoration Event and Live Streaming
I am humbled to join the commemoration event held today at the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, with the remaining survivors in attendance. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum will stream the event on its YouTube channel.
Commitment to Promoting Holocaust Remembrance
We remain committed to our shared responsibility to promote Holocaust remembrance to ensure the past is not forgotten.
About the Author
[The author is on the advisory board of the Margot Friedländer Foundation.]Source Link