Auschwitz – Thousands of young Jews along with Holocaust survivors marched Monday at Auschwitz to remember those who perished in the Nazi death camp, and to honor Poland’s late president.
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The 10,000 or so people from around the world walked the stretch of about 3 kilometers (2 miles) between the red-brick Auschwitz compound and the death camp’s wooden barracks section of Birkenau.
At least 1.1 million people — mostly Jews, Poles and Roma — died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz or from starvation, disease and forced labor at the camp that German Nazis built in occupied Poland during World War II.
Many in Monday’s annual march also wore black arm bands or carried black ribbons in memory of Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, who were killed in a plane crash Saturday along with 94 others en route to WWII-era observances in western Russia.
Israeli Ambassador Zvi Rav-Ner read out a message in Hebrew, English and Polish saying this year’s marchers were also “paying homage” to Kaczynski and the other plane crash victims.
“Lech Kaczynski and his wife were friends of the state of Israel and of the Jewish nation. Today we will march in solidarity with the entire Polish nation,” Rav-Ner said while standing by the infamous gate with a sign reading “Arbeit Macht Frei,” or “Work Makes You Free.”
The inscription was meant to mislead inmates into thinking they were arriving at Auschwitz to work, not die. The metal sign now in place is a replica of the original, which is undergoing renovation after it was stolen in December and recovered two days later.
By tradition, the march started with the blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn, at the gate.
The Auschwitz camp was liberated in January 1945 by Soviet troops.
the 6 million kedoshim whould rather want someone to learn a perek mishnayos than this whole senseless march
Anyone know what the point of blowing shofar is
where did this “tradition” come from to blow a shofar? friends of mine who went on march of the living have told me it is the biggest zionist propaganda event they have ever been to, Rachmana latzlan
No. 1. You, in your wisdom knows what 6 million kdoshim would rather have. Tippish .
You three imbeciles are criticizing and mocking how fellow Jews and youth are trying to remember and honor the 11 million people killed during the Holocaust from the comforts of your homes here in the U.S? Disgusting !!!
These children will not learn the history of Holocaust by picking their noses in shuls and learning trivial laws in mishna 7 days a week. These people have their own way to learn, remember and respect those that were murdered by actually witnessing the history. If your communities don’t do that then don’t judge how other Jews memorialize the Holocaust.
Some people blow the shofars, others sing, others say Kaddish it doesn’t matter how people try to remember. Every custom and tradition was new and developing at some point in history.
Some Jews refuse to even light a candle because they think Holocaust remembrance is “Zionist. Holiday” These type of Jews are worse than the Arabs and the Neonazis that deny the Holocaust.
I feel for those who need to march to remember. Remembering is an act of the mind, not the feet. Additionally, Yom Hashoah is an arbitrary date chosen to recall the atrocities committed. However, we, as Jews, have always chosen to set aside mourning over these types of events and remember them on Tisha B’Av.
Could anyone please open up on how (or if) the Holocaust education is delivered in the frum world? Is it taught in schools? Or is there encouragement to discuss it with families? I ask because I don’t know, and maybe the answers will shed some light… I also ask this is relation to commenter #5 on how people learn about the Holocaust (If secular Jews learn about the Holocaust this way, then how do frum Jews learn about the Holocaust?
And I hope the answers to these question won’t include comments like “the Holocaust is common knowledge” or “You just hear or find out it”