Auschwitz marks anniversary virtually as survivors fear end of an era

FILE PHOTO: The "Arbeit macht frei" (Work sets you free) gate is pictured on the site of the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, empty due to COVID-19 restrictions, two days before the 76th virtual anniversary of the liberation of the camp in Oswiecim, Poland, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

OSWIECIM, Poland (Reuters) - Marian Turski, a 94-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz death camp, marked the 76th anniversary of its liberation by Soviet troops on Wednesday only virtually, aware that he might never return as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.

Survivors and museum officials told Reuters they fear the pandemic could end the era where Auschwitz's former prisoners can tell their own stories to visitors on site. Most Auschwitz survivors are in their eighties and nineties.