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Today in History: January 27, Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps liberated by Soviet troops

Also on this day, singer Michael Jackson suffered serious burns to his scalp when pyrotechnics set his hair on fire during the filming of a Pepsi-Cola TV commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles

Women are pictured in their barrack after the liberation in January 1945 of the Oswiecim (Auschwitz) concentration camp. The Auschwitz camp was established by the Nazis in 1940, in the suburbs of the city of Oswiecim which, like other parts of Poland, was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. The name of the city of Oswiecim was changed to Auschwitz, which became the name of the camp as well. Over the following years, the camp was expanded and consisted of three main parts: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Red Army soldiers liberated the few thousand prisoners whom the Germans had left behind in the camp, 27 January 1945.  This photo is  an excerpt from  a Soviet filmed reenactment with Polish women briefly incarcerated in September 1944 and called back for the shooting a few weeks after their liberation. AFP PHOTO (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
Women are pictured in their barrack after the liberation in January 1945 of the Oswiecim (Auschwitz) concentration camp. The Auschwitz camp was established by the Nazis in 1940, in the suburbs of the city of Oswiecim which, like other parts of Poland, was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. The name of the city of Oswiecim was changed to Auschwitz, which became the name of the camp as well. Over the following years, the camp was expanded and consisted of three main parts: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Red Army soldiers liberated the few thousand prisoners whom the Germans had left behind in the camp, 27 January 1945. This photo is an excerpt from a Soviet filmed reenactment with Polish women briefly incarcerated in September 1944 and called back for the shooting a few weeks after their liberation. AFP PHOTO (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
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Today is Monday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2025. There are 338 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 27, 1945, during World War II, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

Also on this date:

In 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

In 1967, astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo spacecraft at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris, ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1984, singer Michael Jackson suffered serious burns to his scalp when pyrotechnics set his hair on fire during the filming of a Pepsi-Cola TV commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

In 2013, a fire started by pyrotechnics in the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, killed 242 people and injured over 600.

In 2017, President Donald Trump barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months, declaring the ban necessary to prevent “radical Islamic terrorists” from entering the country.

Today’s birthdays:

  • Actor James Cromwell is 85.
  • Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 81.
  • Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 77.
  • U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is 70.
  • Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann is 66.
  • Actor Bridget Fonda is 61.
  • Actor Alan Cumming is 60.
  • Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 57.
  • Rock singer Mike Patton is 57.
  • Rapper Tricky is 57.
  • Actor-comedian Patton Oswalt is 56.

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