Page 9 - Witness

DEAR READER,
When the March of the Living program was founded over three decades ago, little did its founders realize the exceptional impact the program would have in the ensuing years. Since that first journey in 1988, more than 260,000 people – presidents and prime ministers, community leaders and religious figures, teachers and chaperones, students and survivors – have joined this life-changing experience.
All are to be commended for traveling to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the place that symbolizes the very abyss of humanity, to commit to building a world free of hate, prejudice, and genocide. Indeed, many have returned to their homes to become important agents for positive change within their communities.
But of course, it is the Holocaust survivors – the voices of our past – and the students – the custodians of our future – who deserve the most praise.
We have the utmost admiration for the survivors, who courageously share their difficult stories, even though each telling brings back memories of a dark era, beyond our imagination to comprehend. We are forever grateful to them for entrusting their stories to the next generation.
And to the young students: thank you for agreeing to carry the torch of memory for the survivors, to be “the witnesses for the witnesses.”
As you leaf through the pages of this book, please notice this: there is not one poem, not one quote, not one statement, that promotes anger, hatred, or revenge – not one expression of bitterness. This is a true testament of the character of the survivors and students who take part in this remarkable journey.
Anne Frank taught us, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
As you observe the images and the texts from over 30 years of the March of the Living, we ask each one of you to decide how you are going to change the world, how you are going to honor the legacy of the survivors. Take a
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