On Thursday 5 May, youth from many countries worldwide – mainly from Israel and Poland, as well as representatives of 50 states took part in already the 14th March of the Living. The Marches take place on the Day of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust (Jom HaShoah) within the grounds of the former concentration camp in Auschwitz and are supposed to remind us of the Holocaust victims.

The March of the Living are organized since 1988 by the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture in cooperation with the organization “March of the Living International”. Since 1996, the marches take place annually.

Before the march, groups of young Jews visit the camp exhibition, mainly inside block 11, the so called Death Block, the Death Wall, where prisoners were put before the firing squad, and Block 27, which documents the Jews’ martyrdom. Then the participants gather before the gate of the former camp and walk in a column along the so called Death Road onto the grounds of the former camp Auschwitz II – Birkenau, where the main ceremony and the Kaddish prayer for the deceased are held. At the end, the “Hatikva” (Hope) is sung.

This year’s March was led by the Israeli and Polish Prime Ministers – Ariel Sharon and Marek Belka. The Prime Minister of Hungary Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel and the Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel Meir Lau also participated in the ceremony. This was the most widely attended March in history – about 18 thousand people took part in it.