Oswiecim, Jan. 27 -- A memorial service to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops was held on Monday (local time) at the site of the former death camp, a ceremony that was widely treated as the last major observance that any notable number of survivors would be able to attend, CBS News reported.

Among those who traveled to the site was 86-year-old Tova Friedman, who was 6 when she was among the 7,000 people liberated on January 27, 1945. She believes it will the be last gathering of survivors at Auschwitz and she came from her home in New Jersey to add her voice to those warning about rising hatred and antisemitism.

Auschwitz quickly became a potent symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust. Its notorious "selecti...