Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have visited a Nazi concentration camp during their trip to Poland.
The royal couple, both 35, were visibly emotional as they met with five survivors of the Holocaust during a visit to Stutthof concentration and death camp, where 65,000 prisoners – 28,000 of them Jews – died at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
Two of the survivors, Manfred Goldberg and Zigi Shipper, were British citizens who had travelled over from London to return to the place of their incarceration for the first time.
William and Catherine – who were both visiting a concentration camp for the fist time – were also shown discarded shoes, clothes, and other personal possessions which were taken from prisoners, as well as a gas chamber where horrific deaths took place.
The royal couple paid their respects by placing stones at the camp’s Jewish memorial, accompanied by the survivors, who recited the El Maleh Rachamim, the Jewish memorial prayer for those who have died.
Speaking about returning to the camp, Manfred Goldberg said: "For me, returning to Stutthof is a seismic event. I have never been back to any of the places where I was imprisoned since I came to the UK in 1946. When I was first asked about visiting the camp, I hesitated. The mere thought of returning made me relive those years in my mind. But I decided I had to come and finally face the past."
Meanwhile, Prince William and Duchess Catherine’s visit to the camp has been hailed as "incredibly poignant", as it helps to "educate future generations" on the tragic events of the Holocaust.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust said: "Today has been an incredibly poignant and moving day. Their Royal Highnesses’ visit sends a powerful example to the world about the importance of remembering the horrors of the Holocaust and the importance of our work to educate future generations."
Whilst survivor Zigi Shipper added: "When a royal goes and it’s put on the television or in the paper, people say ‘Why don’t we go? And that’s what we want. People should know that it wasn’t just Auschwitch-Birkenau, it wasn’t just Bergen-Belsen, look at all the other camps."
Zigi added that the royal pair were "very moved" by what they saw.
He said: "You could see their faces. They were in pain."
Prince William and Duchess Catherine visit Polish concentration camp
