The solemn commemoration came amid a worldwide spike in antisemitism and new surveys suggesting basic knowledge of the Holocaust is eroding.

German Holocaust survivor Eva Umlauf appealed in an open letter on Thursday to conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz not to align his centre-right CDU/CSU bloc with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass legislation.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday sharply criticized Elon Musk's backing of the right-wing parties in the European Union, calling it "really disgusting" and said it was hindering democracy in the bloc.

The ceremony is widely regarded as the last major observance likely to see a significant number of survivors in attendance.

“God suffered a great deal in every single person who was here. God suffered a great deal in this place,” Cardinal Rys added.

Polish President Andrzej Duda remembered the victims of the Nazis at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial site, as commemorations got under way on Monday to mark 80 years since the death camp was liberated towards the end of World War II.

Monday's ceremony in Poland is regarded as the likely last major observance of Auschwitz's liberation that any notable number of survivors will be able to attend, due to their advanced ages.

Auschwitz quickly became a potent symbol of ... Among the leaders in attendance were Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Germany had never sent both of its ...

In all, the Nazi regime murdered 6 million Jews from all over Europe, annihilating two-thirds of Europe’s Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide. In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Some of the last living survivors spoke of worrying signs that safeguards of “never again” are falling away while antisemitism rises.

It doesn’t do any good for your heart, for your mind, for anything,” said Holocaust survivor Jona Laks, 94, about her return to Nazi Germany’s Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.