King Charles III has become the first British monarch to visit Auschwitz, marking a poignant milestone in the 80th anniversary of the death camp’s liberation. During his landmark visit to Poland, the King emphasized that “the act of remembering the evils of the past remains a vital task.”
Speaking at a Jewish community centre in Krakow before visiting the former concentration camp, Charles highlighted the urgent need to preserve Holocaust memory as survivor numbers diminish. “The responsibility of remembrance rests on our shoulders,” he told gathered survivors and dignitaries.
The visit holds deep personal significance for the King, whose grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, sheltered a Jewish family from the Nazis in occupied Athens during World War II. Palace sources described the trip as a “deeply personal pilgrimage” for the monarch.
Meanwhile in London, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony where they met with survivors including Rachel Levy, who survived Auschwitz as a 13-year-old. Prince William praised the survivors’ “bravery in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who also attended the London commemoration, reflected on his own recent visit to Auschwitz, noting how it demonstrated “how the Holocaust was a collective endeavour by thousands of ordinary individuals utterly consumed by the hatred of difference.”
Across the UK, people were encouraged to light candles in their windows as landmarks including the London Eye and Liverpool’s Liver Building were illuminated in purple for the Light the Darkness national moment of remembrance.
Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, 94, speaking on BBC Radio 4, emphasized the importance of education in preventing such atrocities from recurring. “We’re all hoping for a better world, but we need to contribute to it,” she said, describing how Nazi persecution “did something to our soul.”
The day of remembrance honors the six million Jews murdered during World War II, along with millions of others persecuted by the Nazis and victims of subsequent genocides.
