Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon visits Auschwitz

Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon visits Auschwitz to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the former German Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. On the eve of the visit, he gave a speech to the European Jewish Association (EJA), in which he not only strongly condemned antisemitism but also talked about the dark days of collaboration in Flanders.

“I find it very important to be present at the commemoration ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation and to commemorate one of the most gruesome episodes in history,” Jan Jambon says. The day before his visit to Auschwitz, Jan Jambon also attended a symposium and gala dinner held by the European Jewish Association (EJA), where he gave a speech. In it, not only did he condemn all forms of antisemitism, he also did not shy away from the difficult subject of collaboration.

Dark days

Michael Freilich, MP for the N-VA and former editor-in-chief of the Joods Actueel (Jewish Current) monthly magazine, points out the great symbolic importance of the visit of the Flemish Minister-President. “Given the history, it is very important that a Minister-President of Flanders not only visits Auschwitz, commemorates the liberation and emphasises the fight against antisemitism, but also that he speaks out about those dark days in the history of Flemish nationalism,” Michael Freilich says.

Auschwitz-Birkenau is known as the largest concentration and extermination camp in Nazi Germany. On 27 January 1945, the camp was liberated by the Soviet army. That day, 27 January, was declared International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005. A great many visits and ceremonies are taking place to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Read Jan Jambon’s full speech here