President of the Polish Episcopate: On the Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, We Appeal for Reconciliation and Peace
This anniversary obliges us to loudly express opposition to any manifestations that trample human dignity: racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism - wrote Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, President of the Polish Bishops' Conference, in his message on the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
The Episcopate's President noted that the main theme of this year's celebration of the anniversary of the liberation of the Concentration camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau is the martyrdom of over 200,000 children murdered there and the fate of the few who survived the camp. "There, in that planned + death factory +, the Germans murdered citizens from almost all countries occupied by the Third Reich and allied countries. Most of the victims were Jews," he wrote.
The President of the Episcopate also referred to the words of St. John Paul II, who "called for people to return to God and to His commandments, so that the tragedy of the Holocaust would never be repeated."
"On this anniversary, we appeal to the modern world for reconciliation and peace, for respect for the right of every nation to exist and to freedom, independence, and the preservation of its own culture," wrote the President of the Polish Bishops' Conference.
Press Office of the Polish Bishops' Conference
We are publishing the full text of the message:
Warsaw, 27 January 2021
MESSAGE
OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE POLISH BISHOPS' CONFERENCE
ARCHBISHOP STANISŁAW GĄDECKI
ON THE 76TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ
Today marks the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the German concentration and extermination camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau (27 January 1945); yet the place is still a cause for fear. In KL Auschwitz-Birkenau, German Nazis murdered over a million Jews, tens of thousands of Poles (approximately 75,000), and Romani (21,000), Russians (15,000), and several thousand prisoners of other nationalities.
This year, the main theme of the celebration of the liberation anniversary of Concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau is the martyrdom of over 200,000 children murdered there and the fate of the few who survived the ordeal of the camp. "There, in that planned 'death factory', the Germans murdered citizens from almost all countries occupied by the Third Reich and allied countries. Most of the victims were Jews. This was how the Germans were to carry out the "final solution to the Jewish question." This is how the Holocaust happened. The people destined for annihilation were also Poles, Sinti and Romani.
When Saint John Paul II came to Auschwitz, he said: "The very people that received from God the commandment "Thou shalt not kill", itself experienced in a special measure what is meant by killing" (Auschwitz, June 7, 1979). John Paul II called for people to return to God and to His commandments, so that the tragedy of the Holocaust would never be repeated.
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, recalling the pilgrimage of his predecessor, said in Auschwitz: "Pope John Paul came here as a son of that people which, along with the Jewish people, suffered most in this place and, in general, throughout the war. The rulers of the Third Reich wanted to crush the entire Jewish people, to cancel it from the register of the peoples of the earth. [...] Deep down, those vicious criminals, by wiping out this people, wanted to kill the God who called Abraham, who spoke on Sinai and laid down principles to serve as a guide for mankind, principles that are eternally valid. [...] By destroying Israel, by the Shoah, they ultimately wanted to tear up the taproot of the Christian faith and to replace it with a faith of their own invention: faith in the rule of man, the rule of the powerful."
Pope Francis, while in KL Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2016, was silent and prayed. His prayer and silence were a cry for peace, which is also needed in our time.
In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul wrote: "Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good!" (Rom 12:21). This anniversary obliges us to loudly express opposition to all manifestations that trample human dignity: racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism. On this anniversary, we appeal to the modern world for reconciliation and peace, for respect for the right of every nation to exist and to freedom, independence, and the preservation of its own culture.
Let us pray for the victims of World War II. Let us also pray that, in each person, love for one's neighbor may always be victorious!
+ Stanisław Gądecki
Metropolitan Archbishop of Poznan
President of the Polish Bishops' Conference
Vice-President of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE)
