‘I was simply luckier’: Holocaust survivors warn against forgetting Nazi atrocities

An Auschwitz survivor approaches the Wall of Death, at the former Auschwitz concentration camp where an estimated 1.1 million Jews were killed. Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Survivors of Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp, laid flowers and candles at the memorial site on Tuesday, as commemorations marking its liberation 81 years ago took place around Europe and beyond.

Marking International Holocaust Memorial Day, Jewish leaders across the continent warned against forgetting the extermination of millions, while some of the few remaining survivors urged ordinary people to stand up against populism and extremism.