In Judaism, we toast L’Chaim – to life. Despite generations of Jews facing unimaginable hardship, persecution, hatred, genocide, and the yearning to return to Eretz Yisrael, followed by the struggle to keep the State of Israel safe, the Jewish people have steadfastly raised their glasses in a toast to life. “L’Chaim” has often been an extremely difficult reality, yet it remains the essence of who we are as a Jewish people.
The almost two-mile walk between Auschwitz and Birkenau was a daily march for thousands upon thousands of prisoners who passed under the gates inscribed with “Arbeit Macht Frie – Work Makes the Soul Free.” Nothing could be further from the truth about Auschwitz, the most notorious of Nazi death camps between 1940 and 1945. More than one million people, most of them Jews, were murdered in the Shoah. Auschwitz has become synonymous with the darkest period human history, holding the stories of those who perished and the harrowing tales of the few who survived.
The International March of the Living began in 1988, bringing together groups of teenagers from around that world to Auschwitz on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, to march in remembrance of the Holocaust from Auschwitz to Birkenau. Over the years, more than 300,000 people from more than 50 countries have walked the same three-kilometer path, transforming the march of death into a true march of remembrance, renewal, and rebirth.
For one week, these groups travel throughout Poland, visiting key sites that tell the story of the vibrant Jewish life that once thrived, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the resurgence of Jewish memory and life today. It is a remarkable week that connects Jews and non-Jews alike to the past, present, and future.
This spring, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ will lead a delegation to Poland for an extraordinary weeklong journey with a local Holocaust survivor. Along with participating in the march, we will visit the survivor’s hometown to witness his story firsthand and become bearers of his memory.
We invite you to join us April 21-28, 2025, on this powerful journey to Poland. Together, we will flood those gates with the living – to remember those who died there, honor those who survived, and above all, to truly embody – L’Chaim – to life!
To learn more about our delegation, review the itinerary, meet our chairs, and more join us for an Informational Session on Wednesday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Register here