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WORLD WAR II

‘Our responsibility will never end’: Germany pledges €120 million to Auschwitz fund

Germany has doubled its share of a fund to preserve the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp to €120 million euros, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Tuesday.

'Our responsibility will never end': Germany pledges €120 million to Auschwitz fund
Maas visiting the former concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in August 2018. Photo: DPA

The death camp, which is located in Poland, was where Nazi officials murdered 1.1 million people, a million of whom were European Jews, from 1940 to 1945.

Around 80,000 Poles, 25,000 Roma and 20,000 Soviet soldiers also perished there before the Red Army arrived in January 1945.

More than a decade ago, Poland sought contributions to establish a permanent fund to preserve the site.

Maas was quoted in a statement issued by the Auschwitz museum as saying that Germany would keep doing what “it has done for years within the context of its historical responsibility.

“We want to support this work and preserve the memory because German responsibility for the Holocaust will never end,” he added.

Each year, more than two million people visit the site, which covers more than 200 hectares (500 acres). In 2018, there were a record number of visitors to the memorial site.

In December, Angela Merkel visited the site for the first as Chancellor ahead of the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation.

READ ALSO: Merkel set to visit Auschwitz as Germany battles resurgence of anti-Semitism

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WORLD WAR II

How France will mark VE day on May 8th

Saturday's commemoration of the date that marks the end of World War II in Europe will be happening under strict Covid-19 health rules, but there will be events in France.

How France will mark VE day on May 8th
French President Emmanuel Macron and some military will be attending this year's commemoration in Paris, as they did here, in 2019. Photo: Martin BUREAU / various sources / AFP

Why do we mark May 8th?

First a brief history. May 8th marks the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces in 1945.

Popularly known as VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), it marks the date when World War II ended in Europe.

Some fighting continued around the world, however. The United States dropped its atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki months later, in August, and all hostilities officially ceased on September 2nd 1945.

But in Europe, May 8th brought the end of the Nazi threat and a promise of brighter times ahead.

How is May 8th commemorated in France?

France is one of the few European countries that have made May 8th a public holiday and most people get the day off work when it falls on a weekday (this year it will be on a Saturday, so unfortunately no extra day off).

READ ALSO The French holiday calendar for 2021

In normal times, without Covid-19, May 8th is majestically marked with a large ceremony in Paris and smaller celebrations in towns and cities across the country.

Last year’s event, although it marked the 75-year-anniversary, was a small-scale one compared to other years, as France was still under its first nationwide, strict lockdown. 

President Emmanuel Macron did go ahead with the wreath-laying ceremony at the Champs-Elysées, keeping with the tradition for French heads of state. 

What’s on this year?

The 2021 commemorations will also be less grand than other years as several Covid-19 restrictions remain in place in France.

IN DETAIL: France’s new calendar for reopening after Covid restrictions

As last year, Macron will lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe, which stands at the top of the Champs Elysées, in the presence of “a restricted number of public officials and military,” the French Defence Ministry said a press statement.

The ceremony will be closed to the public, though it will be possible to watch it live on television.

Regional authorities – the préfets – have permission to organise ceremonies in their areas, though “in a restricted format and while strictly respecting social distancing measures,” the statement read. These ceremonies will also be closed to the public.

Mayors can also lay wreath at war memorials in their communes, in ceremonies that, again, have to be in line with health rules and be closed to the public.

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