Russia and Poland feud over who liberated Auschwitz

Are the Russians accusing Poland of "holocaust denial?"

Just a few days before the Jan. 27th commemoration billed as the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of the World War II Auschwitz-Birkenau internment camps in Poland, top Russian and Polish officials are trading angry charges over "who liberated Auschwitz."

It began over the Russian's complaint that President Putin was not invited in a way that properly honored his majesty's exalted position as representing the Soviet Union's glorious "Red Army Liberators." A Polish diplomat, in turn, said Putin made a decision not to attend, and anyway it was the Ukrainians who liberated Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945.

It's very LOL, with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov  accusing Poland's Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna (pictured above right) of "sacrilege." Remember we're dealing with a religion here, so passions do flare as articles of faith are questioned or denied.

This is casting a pall over this year's ceremonies, which have been planned to be the biggest ever at the former camp. Read the full story [fourth item down] on this page at http://jan27.org.