The mission of the March of the Living is to challenge a new generation of Jews with two of the most significant events of Jewish history - the Shoah (The Holocaust) and the birth of the State of Israel.  The March of the Living is a yearly journey where thousands of primarily Jewish teens from around the world gather in Poland and Israel to mark two of the most significant dates on the modern calendar: Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel Independence Day.  The purpose of this trip is to give students a first hand look at history and the evils of mankind.  The mission is to create memories, leading to a revitalized commitment to Judaism, Israel and the Jewish People. It allows Marchers to educate their peers about the Holocaust and to fight those who would deny its history, while forging a dynamic link with Israel, with many returning to strengthen that connection.

During the first leg of the trip, we visit Poland where they tour various cities like Warsaw, Cracow and Lublin which were vibrant Jewish communities before World War II.  These Jewish centres, which were the foundation for Jewish life around the world, are now but only memories.  After seeing and trying to picture the life that was, the youths visit concentration camps like Majdanek, Treblinka and the infamous Auschwitz – Birkenau complex.  In these camps two and a half million Jews and others were murdered by the Nazis.  The youth participate in a March from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Memorial Day.  This symbolic march retraces the steps which countless numbers of innocent civilians were forced to take on their way to annihilation.  This time, the difference is that this is not a March of Death, rather it is a March of the Living with thousands of youngsters marching shoulder to shoulder to show the world they will never forget the atrocities.  The journey culminates with a religious service commemorating all of the victims of the Holocaust, held in the confines of the camp.

The second leg of the trip takes the students to the Jewish homeland of Israel.  We take part in Remembrance Day and Independence Day celebrations.  The students also confront the many difficulties facing the Middle East and the Peace Process through lectures, discussions and visits.

In Poland, we search for traces of a world that is no more.  The participants discover that of the hundreds of Jewish schools, synagogues and institutions that existed before the war, only a handful remains today.  The youth leave Poland wondering how it was possible for the destruction of an entire generation of Jews to occur – but pledge to keep their memory alive.

For more information on the March of the Living Australia, visit the homepage at www.motlaustralia.com

http://www.motlaustralia.com/