On this day the world commemorates the liberation of Auschwitz, which took place on January 27, 1945. This anniversary became the basis for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began on this day in 2005, when the United Nations adopted A/RES/60/7 and called for the creation of an outreach program regarding “The Holocaust and the United Nations” so as to educate society on the importance of Holocaust remembrance and to prevent history from repeating itself. Over one million Jews were killed at Auschwitz, more than any other death camp. It was the only camp that tattooed and dehumanized its prisoners with a number. The camp was established in April 1940, after its approval by Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler with SS-Oberstrumbannführer Rudolf Höss’s recommendation. Hoss would go on to oversee the camp’s development and serve as the first commandant of Auschwitz. June 14, 1940, marked the first mass transport to Auschwitz consisting of 728 Polish political prisoners. The camp remained heavily Polish through March of the following year with close to 11,000 individuals imprisoned.Soviet troops liberated 6,000 prisoners from Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Monowitz on January 27, 1945. By the time the Soviets had arrived, most were sick and dying. In the days before, SS liquidated various sub-camps, forcing its healthy prisoners to embark on marches where they were shot or succumbed to illness. When the United Nations Assembly convened to adopt Resolution 60/7, it was the first time they recognized the horrors of the Holocaust. This day came 55 years after the Israeli Knesset established Yom HaShoah (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day) in 1951. The World Jewish Congress, along with the War Refugee Board, transmitted urgent requests to the U.S. War Department to bomb Auschwitz. While these requests were denied, the U.S. dropped substantial bombs on the IG Farben, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, factory in August 1944. Such actions warmed the hearts of the remaining prisoners, some of whom viewed each bomb as a symbol of hope.