Anti-Semitism rises in Eastern Europe, daily. Neo-Nazis lead supporters of Ultra Nationalist Parties in Hungary, Ukraine and Russia, promoting racist, prejudice and anti-Semitic views. The immediate need to stop fascism from growing is evident. However, hate breeds hate so rather than reciprocating the violent tactics Neo-Nazis practice, a more peaceful and effective method to counter their campaigns is to generate one of remembrance.
Holocaust survivors, liberators and advocates of tolerance acknowledge the current urgency to promote acceptance and understanding. Yet to best produce positive results from such efforts, educational programs are crucial. March of the Living International is one nonprofit organization annually bringing together thousands of teens, adults, survivors and liberators from around the world to Poland and Israel for an educational two-week program about the Holocaust.
A key element that captures participants most is hearing Holocaust survivors and liberators share the memory of their wartime experiences in the very places where tragic events unfolded. Students whose communities have experienced historic persecutions also participate, such as survivors of the Rwandan genocide.
Hearing their voices and seeing them relive each painful memory from the Holocaust compels the utmost sympathy from participants. After the sadness subsides, the epic tales of survival are meant to rouse a deeper appreciation for human life, courage and tolerance. Consequently, each historical chronicle told is forever etched in the minds of those that listened. To listen to a witness, you become a witness. As a result, in order to retain significant interest in March of the Living International, a different theme is chosen annually.
This year, one momentous concept March of the Living International incorporated into its curriculum is the Jewish Sephardic perspective during the Holocaust, featuring distinguished Sephardic Community Ambassador Rabbi Elie Abadie. The 2014 March, on April 28, marked the 70 years that have passed, since the destruction of Hungarian Jewry. To keep the memory alive, the President of Hungary, Janos Ader, was in attendance.
Never again will such horrific violence be inflicted upon the Jewish people, as long as the world never forgets. Teaching younger generations about the anti-Semitic acts that led up to the Holocaust and the actual atrocities that took place during the Holocaust directly from the few that survived the Holocaust supports this effort.
Among the noteworthy featured speakers at his year’s March were Rabbi Meir Lau, a Holocaust survivor from Poland and Chile’s most philanthropic mining business owner Leonardo Farkas of Hungarian Jewish descent. His extraordinarily generous monetary contributions towards March of the Living enabled tens of thousands of young people and Holocaust survivors to participate this year.
One young participant in this year’s event stated, “March of the Living had an impact on every aspect of my life. It changed how I saw anti-Semitism, racism, Jewish studies and having a bigger part in Jewish causes. It also changed me as a person, Jewish and in everyday life. For this experience I am forever grateful!”
