Some 3,000 people from 25 countries are expected to participate in the International March of the Living in Poland, Thursday, following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
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Despite the ability to gather in person, organizers say they now face a much greater challenge. "The reality is that the generation of the Holocaust survivors is fading," Shmuel Rosenman, chairman of the organization and one of the event's founders, said.
March of the Living conducts educational events year-round aimed at combating antisemitism. Its flagship event is a weeklong educational trip in Poland that culminates in a 1.9-mile walk from the concentration camp at Auschwitz to the extermination camp at Birkenau, symbolizing the death marches that took place there in 1945. The march, which falls yearly on Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, relies on the participation of actual survivors to help preserve the memory of the Holocaust's 6 million Jewish victims.
"It is our job to ensure that their voice and their memory never dies out," stressed Rosenman, noting that the reality is, this year "we have just eight survivors able to lead the march. The passing of the flame to the next generation is an urgent cause."
March of the Living has made that cause its central theme. Its website warns, "Each day we witness more Holocaust survivors passing away. Each day we face their stories becoming faded memories. Each day we face a rise in Holocaust distortion and denial. We must prevent history from being rewritten. We must keep the lessons of the Holocaust alive. We must fight against antisemitism and all forms of hatred."
In a statement put out by his organization on Wednesday, Rosenman warned that "we're on the last grain of sand."
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Along with the survivors, this year's march will be accompanied by various delegations, including one comprised of Ukrainian refugees, another comprised of victims of antisemitism, and for the first time, a delegation from the United Arab Emirates. Also marching will be Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Said Rosenman: "With the shadow of war once again hanging over Europe, and Poland hosting millions of refugees from the ongoing war [in Ukraine], President Duda's participation pays tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and will serve as a clear statement against the dangers of antisemitism, hatred, racism, and intolerance."
Holocaust survivor Harry Olmer, 94, told Israel Hayom, "I was born and raised in Poland. I was sent to the camps, and some of my family were murdered in the Holocaust.
Olmer, who resides in London, said: "The Jewish spirit was victorious over the Nazi enemy. I feel that I have won because I was able to survive, and I also have family in Israel."
Ninety-four-year-old Arek Hersh was also set to take part in the march today. The Holocaust survivor, who now resides in Leeds, said, "The Germans entered Poland where I lived and took my family. Only me and my sister survived. Unfortunately, people tend to forget. It's important to show the world what the Germans did in the Holocaust."
This year, the March of the Living will focus on the passing of the torch from Holocaust survivors to the coming generations. Alongside the survivors and the Polish leader, the march will also be led by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, Jewish Agency Michael Siegal, Jewish National Fund Chairman Avraham Duvdevani, third-generation Holocaust survivor Eitan Nishlos, and the founder of the first Holocaust memory gallery Emirati Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori.
Ten Muslim youths, who have been the subject of threats for their planned participation, will march with Israeli flags and join in the singing of Israel's national during the march.
One of the Arab youths set to attend is Tamra resident and the head of the Atidna youth movement that works to integrate Arab youths into Israeli society Suleiman Suleiman.
"This is the strengthening of the Arab identity," Suleiman said. "It's important to us to know the history of the Jewish people. The Holocaust is a human catastrophe. It is important to know about it and to educate against human disasters that are caused by identity and religion."
JNS.org contributed to this report.
