Charles sheds tears at vital’ Auschwitz commemoration

King first British head of state to visit symbol of Holocaust

- TARA COBHAM

The King wiped away tears as he became the first British head of state to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, joining dignitaries from around the world to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp on Holocaust Memorial Day.

The British monarch was seen shedding a tear during a service at the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum and memorial in Poland yesterday afternoon. He bowed his head as he placed a candle at the site on behalf of the UK, alongside foreign monarchs, presidents, prime ministers and Holocaust survivors.

Earlier, Charles visited the heart of Krakow’s Jewish community, speaking with Holocaust survivors and issuing a warning to the world that remembering the “evils of the past remains a vital task” as he met those who lived through one of humanity’s darkest eras.

In the speech to those gathered at the Jewish Community Centre, he described 27 January – the day Auschwitz was liberated by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front in 1945 – as “a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world”.

He said the testimony of Holocaust survivors teaches us to “never be a bystander in the face of violence and hate” and called for it to be used to inspire people to “build a kinder and more compassionate world”.