Warsaw, Jan 28 (IANS): The Auschwitz Museum here commemorated the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the World War II death camp amid strict Covid-19 restrictions, with only around 20 survivors attending.

Due to Covid restrictions and considering the age of the remaining survivors, only a limited number of people were allowed to attend the ceremony in the museum, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Those who survived these torments are now leaving this world," said Halina Birenbaum, a camp survivor and one of the speakers.

"They always remembered it and with all their strength they tried to document to the world, to record in human memory, to warn against repeating them."

She said the horrors and lessons from the Holocaust shouldn't be forgotten.

"Forgetting the criminal facts of this war and extermination is simply a threat," she said.

The Auschwitz concentration camp was established by the Nazis in 1940.

According to estimates, at least 1.1 million people lost their lives at the camp.

The concentration camp was liberated by the Soviet Army on January 27, 1945, a day that became International Holocaust Remembrance Day.