THE HAGUE, Jan. 26 -- In a speech at the National Holocaust Remembrance in Amsterdam on Sunday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered his apologies on behalf of the Dutch government for doing too little in protecting Dutch Jews during World War II.

"I apologize for the government's actions back then, now that the last survivors are still among us," Rutte said. "The Dutch government failed as a guardian of justice and security in the war."

It was the first time a Dutch prime minister apologized for the actions of the Dutch government during World War II, when the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1940 until 1945.

Rutte's speech came on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on Jan. 27, 1945.

The Germans established the Auschwitz camp in Poland in 1940, initially for the imprisonment of Poles. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was established two years later. At least 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz, including Jews, Poles, Romanians, Soviet captives and others.

Of the 140,000 Dutch Jews during World War II, 102,000 did not survive the war, according to local media reports.

"It was too little. Too little protection, too little help, too little recognition," Rutte said.