March of the Living
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The March of the Living, also called The March of Remembrance and Hope, is a dynamic educational program which brings students from all over the world to Poland, where they explore the remnants of the Holocaust. On Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom Hashoah), Participants march silently from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built during World War II. Marchers come from countries as diverse as Panama and New Zealand. The groups from Morocco and Turkey were the only marchers coming from Muslim countries, in the 2006 March.
The programme was established in the 1990s by the government of Israel and worldwide Jewish organisations and takes place annually in April for two weeks. Its purpose is to teach students of different religious and ethnic backgrounds about the dangers of intolerance through the study of the Holocaust, and to promote better relations among people of diverse cultures.
At the climax of the programme is the march, which is designed to contrast with the death marches which occurred towards the end of World War II. When Nazi Germany withdrew its soldiers from forced-labour camps, inmates—usually already starving and stricken by oppressive work—were forced to march tens of miles in the snow, while those who lagged behind or fell were shot. This irony of the living walking the path of a death march serves to illustrate the continued existence of world Jewry despite Nazi attempts at their obliteration.
March of the Living programmes often conclude by travelling to Israel to celebrate its independence day (Yom Haatzmaut), further strengthening the contrast of Jewish life and death.
The March of the Living and the March of Remembrance and Hope are two distinct programs which take place on different dates..
The March of the Living (as correctly described in the Wikepedia entry) takes place on Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah) when participants march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, in contrast to the Nazi enforced death marches that took place toward the end of WWII.
After spending a week in Poland visitng other sites of Nazi persecution and former sites of Jewish life and culture, many of the pariticipants in the March of the Living also travel on to Israel where they observe Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Remembrance Day) and celebrate Yom Haatzmaut (Israel's Independence Day).
The March of the Living is mainly aimed at Jewish high school students and its goals are both universal (to make them better human beings, to fight racism and injustice etc.) and particular (to fight anti-semtism, to strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to Israel)..
Thus the vast majority of particpants in the March of the Living are Jewish high school students from around the world (including Israel), although there are adult groups, along with other non-Jewish groups that some times also participate.
(The term "March of the Living" may refer to the actual one day march from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Remembrance Day or it may refer to the entire two week program in Poland and Israel.)
The March of Remembrance and Hope, by contrast,
1. Does not take place on Holocaust Remembrance Day, but usually in mid to late May 2. is aimed at university aged students 3. targets a diverse population (Christians, Muslims,Hindus, First Nations, Buddhists, Atheists etc) and only a small percentage of particpants are Jewish 4. Has universal goals (fighting racism & injustice directed toward any group etc.) 5. Does not have a trip to Israel
Both trips rely heavily on the participation of Holocaust survivors who accompany the students on their journies and share their Holocaust experiences and memories in the very places where they transpired.
