The main ceremony will take place on 27 January in the former Central Sauna building at the Auschwitz II–Birkenau site.
From December 1943, the Central Sauna "served as a site for the disinfection of property, a bathhouse for prisoners, and a reception building for new transports," according to the museum.
Because space inside is limited and will be reserved primarily for survivors, organizers have encouraged the public to follow the event via television or online broadcasts.
A designated open area will also be prepared on the grounds of the Memorial.
Speaking to the Polish Press Agency PAP, the museum’s spokesperson, Bartosz Bartyzel, said the ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. local time.
The museum’s director, Piotr Cywiński, said organisers would limit speeches to survivors, with no political addresses planned.
"This and future anniversaries will increasingly focus on the words of the Survivors – both those who are still with us and those who, in the past, recorded their experiences, memories, testimonies, and warnings," he said.
Invitations have been sent to all European Union member states, as well as to other countries that have demonstrated a commitment to preserving the authenticity of the Memorial site.
Russia will again not be invited to the official ceremonies, due to its invasion of Ukraine.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked annually on 27 January, the date on which Auschwitz – a Nazi German concentration and extermination camp – was liberated by Soviet forces in 1945.
"By the time the camp was liberated by soldiers of the Red Army, the German Nazis had murdered approximately 1.1 million people in Auschwitz, primarily Jews, as well as Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and people of other nationalities," the museum says.
"About 7,000 prisoners were still present in the camp at the time of liberation."
The 2026 commemorations are held under the honorary patronage of Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
(ał)
Source: PAP, auschwitz.org