OSWIECIM, Poland — For what is likely to be the last time, a large number of the survivors of the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz will gather next week under an expansive tent, surrounded by royalty and heads of state, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of those held there at the end of World War II.
“This will be the last decade anniversary with a very visible presence of survivors,” said Andrzej Kacorzyk, deputy director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which encompasses the sites of the original concentration camp, near the center of Oswiecim, and the larger Auschwitz II-Birkenau on the city’s outskirts.
At the 60th anniversary, 1,500 survivors attended. This year, on Tuesday, about 300 are expected. Most of them are in their 90s, and some are older than 100.
“We find this to be a moment of passage,” Mr. Kacorzyk said. “A passing of the baton. It is younger generations publicly accepting the responsibility that they are ready to carry this history on behalf of the survivors, and to secure the physical survival of the place where they suffered.”
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But perhaps, he said, the outbreaks of anti-Semitism across Europe will help galvanize these new generations.
“When the war was over, everybody was convinced it would be the end of war and of anti-Semitism,” said Milan Salomonovic, 81, who spent several weeks in Auschwitz as a young man.
Mr. Salomonovic has returned to the camps from his home in Prague many times, often leading groups of college students. He says he will be under the tent to witness next week’s ceremony.
“People simply have not learned the lesson of Auschwitz,” he said.
