Last survivors recall Auschwitz, ask if lessons learnt

OSWIECIM, Poland (Reuters) - Russia's Vladimir Putin will be absent from the main event marking 70 years since Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, held against a backdrop of hostilities in Ukraine and warnings of a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe.

The commemoration on Tuesday at the site in southern Poland where the Nazis killed about 1.5 million people, mainly European Jews, between 1940 and 1945, may be the last major anniversary when survivors attend in numbers. The youngest are in their 70s.