Vladimir Putin to Visit Auschwitz
The official observation of the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War Two begins today in the Polish cities of Krakow and Oswiecim (known also by its Germanized name Auschwitz). An international forum is to be held there as well with the participation of the leaders of 40 countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
About 100 former inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp will be present. Four of the seven surviving liberators of the camp will also be in attendance, as will 100 young people from 100 countries. Approximately 1.5 million people, 90 percent of whom were Jewish, died in the Auschwitz camp.
One of the first speakers at the forum will be 92-year-old former Soviet Army Major Anatoly Shapiro, who first opened the gates to the camp. Then the presidents of Poland, Russia and Israel, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Putin and Moshe Katsav, respectively, will appear. The forum will mark the beginning of a European educational program on the Holocaust.
Putin will open the Russian exhibition on the second floor of Barrack 14 of the camp and meet with various other world leaders while he is there.
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 26, 2005
|
