The Eldred World War II Museum holds monthly programs, and the theme for 2020 will be 75th anniversaries.
Jan. 27, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland.
In recognition, the museum will host “The Liberation of Auschwitz — 75th anniversary program” at 2 p.m. on Jan. 25.
Museum Curator Steve Appleby will be presenting an introduction and facts regarding the anniversary, while Educator Debbie Hamilton, a teacher from Northern Potter High School, will be present to speak as well.
“(Hamilton) just returned recently from Yad Vashem, and she has been to Auschwitz itself,” Appleby said. “She’s going to talk about the actual day of the liberation.”
Auschwitz was actually three camps in one: a prison camp, an extermination camp, and a slave-labour camp. Soviet troops entered Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945 to liberate the camp, and in 2005 the day became known as International Holocaust Remembrance Day in recognition of the anniversary.
Yad Vashem is the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, located in Jerusalem. According to the center’s website, “Yad Vashem is at the forefront of unceasing efforts to safeguard and impart the memory of the victims and the events of the Shoah period; to document accurately one of the darkest chapters in the history of humanity; and to grapple effectively with the ongoing challenges of keeping the memory of the Holocaust relevant today and for future generations.”
Other talks in the monthly program schedule include the Battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 20; the Battle of Remagen on March 19 and the Battle of Okinawa on April 16.
