Auschwitz survivor in Poland dies on anniversary of liberation
Kazimierz Smolen, a 91-year-old Auschwitz survivor who became director of the memorial site after World War II, died yesterday on the 67th anniversary of its liberation.
Smolen died in a hospital in Oswiecim, the southern Polish town where Nazi Germany operated Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II, said Pawel Sawicki, a spokesman for the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum.
Yesterday was the anniversary of the camp’s 1945 liberation by Soviet troops. The United Nations in 2005 designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day; the day was marked with ceremonies across Europe.
Two years after the war ended, Auschwitz-Birkenau became a museum – and Smolen himself served as its director from 1955-1990. He continued to live in the town after his retirement, often attending the memorial ceremonies marking the camp’s liberation.
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