The first hours immediately after the liberation of the Oswiecim concentration camp by the Soviet Army, January 1945. Auschwitz, Poland. Soviet doctors and representatives of the Red Cross with children who were prisoners in the camp. Photo: waralbum.ru/36511/, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, Illustration: KGS/IAK Berlin
In January 2026, the International Auschwitz Committee, together with its partners, will be commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, and reflecting on what remembrance means for our democracy today.
27 January is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This date has been deliberately chosen because it marks the anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27 January 1945.
On the 81st anniversary, the central commemoration ceremony will take place in Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27 January 2026 (starting at 4:00 p.m. in Auschwitz II-Birkenau, the central ‘sauna’ building).
The commemorative events in Germany (in German)