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The Seventeenth March of the Living
On Thursday, nearly 6 thousand Jews from over 55 countries around the world were joined by 1,600 Poles in paying homage and commemorating the victims of the Holocaust in the 17th March of the Living.
The March began at the Auschwitz gate that bears the inscription Arbeit macht frei—“work will set you free.” The blowing of the shofar, the traditional ram’s horn, signaled the start. Its sound is an appeal to God for mercy.
The March followed the Trail of Death between the Auschwitz I and the Auschwitz II-Birkenau sites. The participants included former Auschwitz prisoner and Sonderkommando member Henryk Mandelbaum, Israel Defence Forces Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and Chelsea Football Club manager Avram Grant.
Israeli actor Chaim Topol, renowned for the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, said during the ceremonies that “six million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. We are under an obligation to tell our brothers around the world that we will not forget.”
Gabi Ashkenazi said: “Standing on this ground that witnessed the greatest monstrosity in human history, I call upon all nations to remove hatred from the surface of the earth, and to remove anti-Semitism from the world. We must all do everything in our power to prevent this history from being repeated. Never again!”
Holocaust survivor Felix Zandman, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Director Piotr M.A. Cywiński, Ph. D., Israeli writer Eitan Haber, and students lighted six gigantic candles that burned during the observances to symbolize the victims of the Holocaust.
The commemoration concluded with the recitation of the Kaddish, the prayer for the dead. March participants placed dozens of wooden tablets, symbolizing matzevot (Jewish gravestones) on the train tracks and ramp where the Nazis carried out the selection of Jews brought there from all over Europe.
The March of the Living
The first March of the Living was organized in 1988, and was of an educational nature. It was aimed at young Jews living in the Diaspora, and at young Israelis. The goal was to make both Diaspora and Israeli youth aware that the traumatic World War II experiences of their ancestors are an integral part of the Jewish identity.
As an educational initiative, the March has two components. The first part is the trip to Poland and the march from Auschwitz I to Birkenau. The second part is a visit to Israel, including participation in celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. Young Poles have officially taken part since 1998.
The March is traditionally held on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, the date of which was selected by the Knesset on April 12, 1951. The April date is connected with the anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The original name of the holiday was Yom HaShoah u’Mered HaGetaot (Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the Uprising in the Ghetto). Later, the day was observed as Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laGvura (Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and Heroism). Now it is simply called Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on the 27th day of the month of Nisan. In 2008, this corresponded to May 2, but the observances were moved up one day because May 2 was the Sabbath.
Life comes to a halt at 10:00 a.m. in Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Sirens sound and traffic stops. International Holocaust Remembrance Day has been held in European countries for several years. It is observed in Germany, the UK, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. All victims of Nazi genocide are commemorated on the January date.
