On January 27, 1945 , the Soviet Army freed thousands of people who had survived the largest graveyard in human history – Auschwitz, Poland.

Last week, the world celebrated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi death camp where over a million people, mostly Jews, were butchered during World War II.

Auschwitz is a reminder of the evil, barbarism and brutality that man is capable of; and of the grit, determination and helplessness of those who survived.

File picture showing snow-covered personal belongings of those deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland lying on the tracks leading to the camp's entrance.

Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images