Tina Smith: “I rise today to observe a solemn anniversary. On January 27, 2005, the world will pause and remember as we mark the…”

“I rise today to observe a solemn anniversary. On January 27, 2005, the world will pause and remember as we mark the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the most notorious of Nazi Germany's concentration and death camps. In 1940, Germany established the Auschwitz concentration camp 37 miles west of Krakow in Poland. Formerly a Polish Army barracks, Auschwitz was first used as a prison for captured Polish soldiers and those who were considered by the Nazis to be dangerous. The prison held captive the elite of Poland--their civic and spiritual leaders, educated classes, cultural and scientific figures, army officers, and members of the resistance movement. Throughout World War II, Auschwitz continued to be used to house prisoners-of-war, gypsies, and others who opposed the Nazi regime. In 1942, Germany began to use Auschwitz as one of its principle camps to carry out the systematic extermination of Jews across the European continent. As the Nazis pursued their horrific 'final solution,' over one million Jews and tens of thousands of others perished at Auschwitz, the majority of whom were executed in the infamous gas chambers. As the Soviet Army approached at the end of 1944, the Nazis attempted to destroy evidence of their atrocities. In late January 1945, the Germans evacuated Auschwitz with the SS leading over 50,000 prisoners on a death march that eventually claimed the lives of thousands more.”