An International Educational Program

On April 19, 2012, thousands of Jewish teens, from countries all around the world, will share in a once in a lifetime experience when they march three kilometers from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built by the Nazis during World War II. The March commemorates Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. You can be there — along with over 12,000 participants who will be part of this historic event. Holocaust survivors will play a significant educational role on the March of the Living as they share the painful memory of their war-time experiences with the young people in the very places where they unfolded.

Honoring Liberators

As the March enters the beginning of its 25th anniversary, a special effort is being made to honor those WWII veterans who risked their lives to preserve freedom and defeat Nazi tyranny during the war. In 2012, a large number of WWII veterans, including those who actually participated in liberating the camps, will join the March of the Living. Along with the Holocaust survivors who they liberated, these courageous heroes will play a central role during the 2012 March and accompanying commemorative ceremonies in Poland and Israel. As one of the Marchers, your steps will be in direct contrast to the Nazi enforced Death Marches, during which countless numbers of people perished toward the end of WWII. This time, however, there will be a difference. It will be a March of the Living with thousands of Jewish youth, like yourself, marching shoulder to shoulder, along with survivors and their liberators. You will participate in a, memorial service in the vicinity of the gas chambers/crematoria in Birkenau, which will conclude with the singing of Hatikvah, reaffirming Am Yisrael Chai — The Jewish People Live. From Poland, you will fly to Israel to join the entire Jewish community in, celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's 64th Independence Day, on April 26. Your time in Israel will be filled with a week of unforgettable experiences.

Unforgettable Moment


Yom Hashoah and Yom Ha'atzmaut are two of the most important days in modern Jewish times. By taking part in these special events, you will share unforgettable moments in Jewish history and bear witness to the undying spirit of the Jewish people. Like those who participated in previous Marches (beginning in 1988), you will return home with a new sense of yourself, your people and your history. It will be an experience that will remain with you for a lifetime.

A Study In Contrasts


Your stay in Poland and Israel will be a study in contrasts. In Poland you will search for traces of a world that no longer exists. You will discover that, of the hundreds of Jewish schools, synagogues and institutions that once existed in Warsaw before the war, there remains a sparsely attended synagogue (used by the Nazis as a stable during the war) and a centuries-old Jewish cemetery, left relatively untouched by the Nazis during their occupation of Warsaw. You will also see a new resurgence of Jewish culture with synagogues, schools, organizations and youth groups. Like many others you may leave Poland wondering how it was possible for the destruction of almost an entire generation of Jews to occur – yet you will pledge to keep their memory alive.

In Israel, you will encounter a country that is striving valiantly to keep the age-old flame of Jewish nationhood alive. On Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day, you will join together with all of Israel as they mourn their fallen soldiers and victims of terror and on Yom Ha'atzmaut you will celebrate Israel's independence along with the entire country. Poland and Israel; the richness and anguish of our past; the hope of our future. This experience will help you understand how important both aspects are to your identity as a Jewish teenager living in the 21st century.

Download the 2012 High School March brochure

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