Russia Says UN Chief’s Holocaust Remarks Were Outrageous

Russia has slammed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for omitting the role of the Red Army in the liberation of Auschwitz during his speech

In his speech to mark the anniversary of the concentration camp’s liberation, Guterres failed to mention the Red Army’s role in freeing the inmates of Auschwitz, as well as the Soviet Union’s sacrifices in defeating Nazi Germany. 

RT reports: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Saturday that the UN chief’s remarks were “outrageous” and accused him of yielding to “distorted political correctness popular in the West.”

Zakharova said that the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, observed on January 27, was established to honor the Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz in 1945. Located in southern Poland, it was the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp during World War II, where over a million people, primarily Jews, were killed. “The feat of the liberator soldiers is immortal. No one has the right to downplay its significance or ignore it,” she said.

In his speech at the UN General Assembly’s memorial ceremony on Monday, Guterres honored the six million Jews murdered during the genocide and highlighted the dangers of rising anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. “We must stand up to these outrages. We must promote education, combat lies, and speak the truth,” he urged.

However, his speech did not specifically mention the Soviet Union’s role in World War II.

Russia considers it “outrageous” that “Guterres’ list of victims of Nazi crimes, including genocide –such as Jews, Roma, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those whom the Nazis ‘enslaved, persecuted, tortured, and killed’ – did not mention the multi-million losses of the USSR during World War II,” Zakharova said.

Moscow views such omissions as part of a broader trend to “downplay or completely deny the role of the Red Army and the peoples of the USSR in ensuring our common Victory, to falsify or distort the outcomes of World War II,” the spokeswoman explained.

In January, numerous events were held in Russia to commemorate the International Day of Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust and to honor the Red Army soldiers who liberated Auschwitz, Zakharova pointed out. She highlighted these efforts as part of Russia’s commitment to preserving historical memory.

According to estimates, the Soviet Union suffered approximately 26.6 million fatalities during World War II, encompassing both military personnel and civilians. This was the largest death toll suffered by any country during the war.