Auschwitz survivors, Israeli lawmakers mark 69 years since camp's liberation

Auschwitz survivors lay a wreath and flowers at the former Nazi death camp's Executions wall in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, to mark 69 years since the Soviet Red Army liberated the camp. Israeli lawmakers and government officials are to attend anniversary observances later in the day. The Nazis killed some 1.5 million people, mostly Jews at the camp during World War II.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) (The Associated Press)

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Holocaust survivors arrive for a ceremony to mark the 69th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Nazi death camp's in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, since the Soviet Red Army liberated the camp. Israeli lawmakers and government officials are to attend anniversary observances later in the day. The Nazis killed some 1.5 million people, mostly Jews at the camp during World War II. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) (The Associated Press)

A Holocaust survivor walks inside the former concentration camp before a ceremony to mark the 69th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Nazi death camp's in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, since the Soviet Red Army liberated the camp. Israeli lawmakers and government officials are to attend anniversary observances later in the day. The Nazis killed some 1.5 million people, mostly Jews at the camp during World War II. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) (The Associated Press)

OSWIECIM, Poland – Auschwitz survivors and Israeli officials are marking 69 years since the liberation of the Nazi death camp, in a ceremony that includes a large group of Israeli lawmakers.

The ceremony Monday at the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial takes place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by the United Nations in memory of some 6 million Holocaust victims, and some 1.5 million victims of Auschwitz, who were mostly Jews.

Some 20 survivors laid a wreath at the former camp's Death Wall, where inmates were executed. Some 60 members of the Knesset, or half of the Israeli legislature, have joined the survivors for the ceremonies. They are also to meet their Polish counterparts and others in an unprecedented session held outside Israel.