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Walking to the Crematoria Ruins

For the twelfth time, the March of the Living will be held on April 29, which is Holocaust Day (Yom Ha-Shoah) in Israel. At 1:00 PM, to the sound of the shofar, Holocaust survivors and accompanying groups of Jewish youth from all over the world will march out the Arbeit macht frei gate and begin the three-kilometer walk from the site of the Auschwitz I-Main Camp to the site of the Birkenau camp.

A brief, symbolic roll call of the dead will take place at the ruins of the Birkenau gas chambers, and the kaddish will be recited.

Approximately 2,000 people, including Polish youth, who have been participating for several years, will join the March. The presidents of Israel and Poland are also expected to attend.

Attention!!! On the day of the March, 29 April, the Memorial is closed to public

Shoah (destruction, catrastrophe) – the Hebrew term for the Holocaust; in contrast to the latter word, it has no religious connotations (Holocaust means "burnt offering").

Shofar – the hollowed-out ram's horn blown by the ancient Hebrews during religious ceremonies. Its sound was also used as a signal in battle. At present, the shofar is blown at the beginning of the penitential period that culminates in Yom Kippur (the Day of Reconciliation; the Day of Judgement). The blowing of the shofar is an appeal to God for mercy towards His creatures.

Kaddish (Hebrew for "holy") in Judaism, a prayer that is an element of all Jewish collective prayer, also recited by men throughout the year following the death of a close family member, and on each anniversary of such a death.

Shoah Commemoration Day (Yom Ha-Shoah) – proclaimed on April 12, 1951 by the Knesset (parliament of Israel). This April date is associated with the Warsaw ghetto uprising and was originally called Yom Ha-Shoah U'Mered Ha-Getaot (Holocaust and Ghetto Uprising Commemoration Day). Later, this was changed to Yom Ha-Shoah Ve Hagevurah (Shoah and Heroism Commemoration Day). At present, it is known simply as Shoah (Commemoration) Day. The date is moveable and depends on the lunar Jewish calendar, where it always falls on the 27th of Nissan.

Life in Israel comes to a halt for two minutes at 10:00 AM on Yom Ha-Shoah. Sirens blow and all movement on the streets pauses.
The March of the Living, initiated in 1987 by Avraham Hirschon, has been held at the Museum on this day since 1988.
For several years now, a Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust (and, in general, of all victims of Nazi genocide) has also been observed in some European countries, such as Germany, the UK, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark, although such observances are held on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp.