March of the Living in Germany

 

THE MARCH OF THE LIVING

We drove an hour from Cracow to Auschwitz where we had toured yesterday, but this time we were joined by 15,000 Jews from 46 countries.

We lined up for the March just inside the Auschwitz gate. First in line was the delegation from Israel, which included many students and a group of Israeli soldiers. They were followed by a large group of students and adults from Hungary.

“Why Hungary?” I asked. Then I heard the sobering reason. Seventy years ago in April of 1944 the Nazis rounded up 420,000 Hungarian Jews and brought them directly to Auschwitz. In ten weeks they were all gassed to death. Almost half were children.

I decided right then that I was marching for them.

Indeed I was. Each marcher was given the name of a Hungarian child to march for. I had Anne Zucker from Budapest. She was two years old when she was sent to the gas chamber. TWO YEARS OLD! What could she have done to deserve this fate? How could God have let this happen to her?

I marched for little Annie and my heart ached for her.

In total the Nazis murdered 600,000 of Hungary’s 800,000 Jews.

We marched en masse from Auschwitz to Burkenau “the largest Jewish graveyard in the world.” In every direction I looked I saw masses of people, old and young, a sea of royal blue and white. Many had wrapped themselves in Israeli flags.

As we marched we heard the names of the Hungarian Jews who died in Auschwitz.  I placed a marker in the ground to honor little Annie Zucker. Another one I placed to remember all of my family members who were shot to death and burned at Baba Yar in Ukraine.

One young boy whose great grandmothers both had died in Burkenau asked a rabbi if he could have a Bar Mitzvah on the train tracks that brought his great grandmas here. The rabbi performed the service on the tracks with the boy in front of a tearful but cheering crowd.

A very moving ceremony followed the March on the grounds of Burkenau.

The President of Hungary was critical of his own country for not trying to help its Jewish citizens. He asked for a minute of silence for those who died in Auschwitz. He told us that if we took a minute for each individual who was killed here we would be sitting silent for three years!

The Head Rabbi of Israel told us not to let the Nazis win by abandoning our Jewish roots. “Come home” he implored. “Come home to Judaism!”

Israel president Benjamin Netenyahu addressed us by satellite. He reminded us that mourning the dead is important but not enough. We must also pledge to stay strong and support Israel to defend the Jewish people against those want to destroy us now.

The ceremony concluded with a stirring rendition of Hatikva.

More than ever before I am proud to call myself a Jew.

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