Holocaust Memorial 80th Year

80 Years Since the Liberation of Auschwitz

Article by Luke & Sarah Gasiorowski of Helping Hand Coalition, a family-run ministry bringing hope and dignity to Holocaust Survivors living in Israel today.

The Soviet Red army was not ready for the atrocities that they were about to witness as they opened up the gates to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

On January 27th, 1945, 80 years ago, the army liberated one of the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camps located in Poland. And it was here, that around a million Jewish people were transported to their unjust deaths.

“I, who saw people dying every day, was shocked by the Nazis’ indescribable hatred toward the inmates who had turned into living skeletons.” This was one of the remarks of the Red Army General Vasily Petrenko, commander of the 107th Infantry Division after liberating Auschwitz.

To their shock, the Red Army encountered around 7000 helpless near death survivors left in terrible conditions inside the camp. The Nazis had just escaped a couple days ago, taking with them another 56,000 survivors on a cruel death march before the liberation.

How did humanity come to such a low level of hatred? And how did it get so far? That a radical ideology of hate against the Jewish people would become institutionalized to the point of even teaching it to innocent children in school?

And what was the result? In the shadow of a war, a genocide took place, leading to the death of 6 million Jewish people. They were unjustly labelled as the enemy, for no other reason than their ethnicity.

Here we are 80 years later. It is so important to know the dangers of hate, radical ideologies, and antisemitism. Dehumanizing a people group, blaming a certain sector of society for their problems, has dangerous consequences if left unchecked.

Today there are around 150,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel, with an median age of 86 years old. From the ashes of the Holocaust, they have been able to create a life and family for themselves.

Helping Hand Coalition (HHC) continually reaches out with a helping hand to bless and support them with medical support, fellowship, entertainment that feeds the soul, and with basic needs for living such as food and clothing.

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