Norway police apologize for Auschwitz deportation of Jews
White roses left by mourners lie next to one of the many plaques detailing transports of Berlin Jews to concentration camps at the Gleis 17 (Track 17) memorial on the 70th anniversary of the deportations on Oct 18 in Berlin.
Police in Norway apologized for the first time Monday for their role in deporting Jews to Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
The announcement by national police commissioner Odd Reidar Humlegaard came 70 years after Norway sent its first group of Jews to Auschwitz, Reuters reported.
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"It is fitting that I express my regret for the role police played in the arrest and deportation of these completely innocent victims," he said.
About 300 Norwegian police officers handled the deportation of 772 Jews to Auschwitz.
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Only a handful survived, according to the Jewish Journal.
Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg made a separate formal apology earlier this year.
“I could say that it was about time” for the police to apologize," Auschwitz survivor Samuel Steinmann told the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen. “But it is good to hear.”
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