Speech by Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, Chairman, March of the Living
Delivered at the Gates of Auschwitz, Yom Hashoah, May 1, 2008

Dear March of the Living Participants - Moments from now,  you will begin the solemn March  from Auschwitz to Birkeanu

As you do so, I would like ask each of you to feel , both the sadness and the honor of participating in the March.

With each step on this sorrow-filled path, we shall mourn the loss of those who perished here, and share the pain of the survivors, who still carry the burden of their Shoah memories with them, each and every day.
And yet, with each step, we shall also feel a sense of pride.

Why do we March?

We are marching to keep alive, the memory of the millions of our Kedoshim (holy martyrs), who perished here.

We are marching for the future of Am Yisrael, and the state of Israel.

We are marching to build a better world for all humanity, so that no nation, no people, should ever have an Auschwitz, or a Majdanek or a Treblinka built for their annihilation.

To our survivors, you are  our witnesses, you are our prophets, you are  our last link to a world that is no more.  To our young people, you are the bridge between past and future. In times to come, when you have your own children, you will be the witnesses for the witnesses, you will tell them about this March and the stories the survivors entrusted with you.  This is your sacred duty, your most important mitzvah.

We are gathered here today, with Jewish participants - students, survivors and second generation -from six continents. We are also fortunate to be joined by people of goodwill from other nations and religions around the world.

Let us now,  unite our hearts, and join our hands together –

At the sound of the Shofar,  we will begin to March.

The Shofar is Sounded…

Hamtisad Yitsad.