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The Czech president, Miloš Zeman, has warned of a “super-holocaust” leaving hundreds of millions dead if Islamic State is not stopped. Speaking in Prague at a conference marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Mr. Zeman said Islamic State was similar in nature to Germany's Nazis at the start of the 1930s. He called for unified armed action against Islamic State led by the United Nations Security Council and warned that more terrorist attacks would need to occur before the public realised that it wasn't possible to negotiate with terrorists.

The presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia honoured victims of the Holocaust in a memorial ceremony at the National Cemetery in Terezín on Monday. Both Miloš Zeman and Andrej Kiska condemned Nazi propaganda in connection with the former ghetto and concentration camp; the Nazis staged social and cultural events in the town during a visit by Danish representatives of the Red Cross in 1944 to mislead officials about the actual use of Terezín, where many died of disease and maltreatment or were sent on to death camps.

The head of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor, has said that Jews in Europe are close to a new exodus as they faced both economic pressure in some countries and threats from radical Islam. Mr Kantor made the statement ahead of an international forum on the Holocaust which began in Prague on Monday. The head of the EJC recalled violence last year and this - the recent attack at a kosher grocery store in Paris following the attacks at Charlie Hebdo – and called on the European government to do more to improve security for Jews. Mr Kantor is a Russian billionaire, allegedly with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. He did not answer questions concerning Moscow´s policy towards Ukraine on Monday, the Czech News Agency reported, but called Mr Putin a great friend to the Russian Jewish community.

Remembrance events marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, organized by the European Jewish Congress in the Czech Republic have strained relations between Prague and Warsaw and left Czech politicians fending off accusations that the country is pandering to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not invited to attend the commemorative events in neighbouring Poland.

A forum on anti-Semitism opened in Prague on Monday as part of two days of remembrance events marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The forum Let My People Live, organized by the European Jewish Congress, is addressing the danger of growing anti-Semitism, the role of the media in shaping public opinion, the role of politicians in combating xenophobia and legislative measures against intolerance. In the evening there will be a gala reception at Prague’s Municipal House. On Tuesday, Holocaust Remembrance Day, a commemorative ceremony will be held at the site of the Terzin ghetto, north of Prague. The commemorative events in the Czech Republic will be attended by around 500 foreign guests including two presidents, around thirty heads of parliament and cultural figures.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka will head a Czech delegation to neighbouring Poland on January 27th to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, government spokesman Martin Ayrer has confirmed. The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Jan Hamáček, meanwhile, will attend a commemorative ceremony on the same day at Terezín, north of Prague. The extermination camp at Auschwitz, where more than more than a million people, mostly Jews, were murdered, was liberated in 1945 by Soviet soldiers. World leaders who will be attending on the 27th will reportedly include the presidents of Poland, France, Germany and Austria. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not due to attend, having not received an invitation from Warsaw over his country’s intervention in Ukraine. Russia will be represented by its ambassador, ČTK writes.

Later this month the Czech Republic will hold commemorative events over two days to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz at the end of World War II. The initiative, the daily Gazeta Wyborcza suggested, has Polish representatives seeing red, not least over fears the Czech ceremonies could overshadow Poland’s own. According to the daily, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka was contacted by his Polish counterpart over the matter.

The minister of culture, Daniel Herman, has removed protected status from a painting in the possession of the Czech National Gallery, clearing the way for its return to members of the Jewish family that originally owned it. The family had been awarded the 18th century work by Francesco Solimen – which was seized from them by the Nazis – in a restitution hearing; however, its status as belonging to the Czech cultural heritage meant it could not be taken out of the country.

President Miloš Zeman has invited representatives of the WWII victorious powers, including Vladimir Putin, to visit the Czech Republic in January, the spokesman for the Presidential Office Jiří Ovčáček told the Czech Radio on Tuesday. The heads of state of the United States, Russia, Great Britain and France were invited on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp in Auschwitz, on January 27. The politicians have not yet confirmed whether they will take part in the event.

Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Mr Zaorálek, who is on a three-day official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, said the visit to the memorial was a strong and compelling experience. The minister on Wednesday also met with Prague-born Israeli historian Yehuda Bauer whom he invited to visit Prague next year. Mr Zaorálek has met with Israeli President Reuven on Tuesday, the first day of his trip, and expressed concern about Israeli plants to build new settlements in the West Bank. The Czech Foregin Minister is also scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, and visit a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem.