UNITED NATIONS — Ban Ki-moon plans to make the first-ever visit by a United Nations secretary-general to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The camp remains the most vivid symbol of the cruelty of Nazi Germany’s genocide of World War II.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky announced that Ban will visit the camp on Monday “to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and to stress the importance of the UN’s work for genocide prevention, tolerance and peace.”
More than 1.1 million Jews died in Auschwitz and the adjacent Birkenau death camp in gas chambers or from starvation, disease and forced labor.
Ban will fly to Krakow, Poland, following visits to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania and will then go on to Warsaw to attend the high-level session of a UN conference on climate change.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Your next read: ToI Editors' Picks
LIMITED TIME OFFER: Join The Times of Israel Community today and you'll receive a physical book of your choice, carefully curated by our editors.
Choose between two must-reads: When We See You Again by Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a searing portrait of a mother’s grief and strength following unthinkable tragedy;
Or Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe by Matti Friedman, the gripping and surprising tale of a forgotten moment during World War II.
As a Community member, you’ll also enjoy our DocuNation series of outstanding Israeli documentary films, an ad-free experience of our site and podcasts, commenting privileges, and more.
CHOOSE YOUR BOOK
CHOOSE YOUR BOOK
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this