Screening of the film 'The Zone of Interest'
23.01.2026
On 23 January, the Permanent Representations of Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom to the Council of Europe organized a screening of the film 'The Zone of Interest' directed by Jonathan Glazer. The date of the screening was linked to the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp (27 January), celebrated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The screening attracted a large audience, including members of the diplomatic corps, Council of Europe staff and judges of the European Court of Human Rights. Introductory remarks before the screening were made by the Permanent Representative of Germany to the Council of Europe, Ms Heike Thiele, and the Chargé d'affaires a.i. at the Permanent Representation of Poland to the Council of Europe, Ms Iwona Marczyk-Stępniewska. The German Ambassador recalled that the Council of Europe was built on the ruins of war and that it is our European commitment to human rights, the rule of law and democracy, which must be as important today as it was in 1945. She emphasised that during its existence between 1940 –1945, over 1 million people were deported to the camp, most of whom were murdered there or died in the so-called death marches, and that Auschwitz is today a symbol and synonym throughout the world for Nazi crimes of violence, especially the mass and systematic murder of Jews from all over Europe.
The Polish side also recalled Poland's contribution to the making of the film, emphasising the significance of the day on which it is being screened.