Remembering Sidney Zoltak z”l

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line-height:1.7 !important; color:var(--navy) !important; max-width:600px !important; margin:0 auto 28px !important; } .motl-sz .sz-close .sz-bde{ font-family:'Raleway',sans-serif !important; font-weight:800 !important; font-size:15px !important; letter-spacing:.24em !important; text-transform:uppercase !important; color:var(--blue) !important; margin:0 0 10px !important; } .motl-sz .sz-close .sz-zl{ font-family:'Spectral',Georgia,serif !important; font-style:italic !important; font-size:18px !important; color:var(--ink) !important; margin:0 !important; } @media (max-width:600px){ .motl-sz{padding:4px 16px 32px !important;} .motl-sz p{font-size:17.5px !important;} .motl-sz .sz-lead{font-size:19px !important;} .motl-sz .sz-dek{font-size:17px !important;} .motl-sz blockquote.sz-quote{padding-left:18px !important;} .motl-sz blockquote.sz-quote p{font-size:17.5px !important;} .motl-sz .sz-close .sz-memorial{font-size:18px !important;} } Holocaust Survivor and Eloquent Educator, Saved by Polish Righteous Among the Nations 1931 – 2026 Righteous Among the Nations Zygmunt Krynski (right) kissing his friend Sidney Zoltak in front of the barn where he hid Sidney during the war.Photo: Katka Reszke The International March of the Living mourns the passing of Sidney Zoltak, Holocaust survivor and educator. Sidney accompanied Montreal students on the March of the Living six times, eloquently sharing his moving story and expressive voice with them, as well as with students from across Canada. In addition to his work with the March of the Living, Sidney volunteered decades of his life with the Montreal Holocaust Museum, the Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. Hidden in a Barn Sidney Zoltak was born in 1931 and grew up in the village of Siemiatycze in eastern Poland. During the Holocaust, at the age of 11, he escaped to live in the forest. He was eventually sheltered in a barn for 14 months by the Krynski family. In 2011, after Sidney’s tireless efforts, Yad Vashem bestowed the title of Righteous Among the Nations on members of the Krynski family. Sidney Zoltak and Zygmunt Krynski (right).Photo: Katka Reszke Returning Home As recounted in the book Witness: Passing the Torch of Holocaust Memory to New Generations, Sidney returned to his hometown during his 2014 trip with the March of the Living to reunite with remaining members of the Krynski family. On the same trip, he shared part of his story at Treblinka, where nearly one million Jews were murdered, in front of hundreds of March of the Living students from Montreal and in the presence of the son of his rescuer. He told them that of all his classmates, he was the only one who survived. “When we got back to our hometown, less than one percent had survived. Less than 70 from a community of 7,000. The most difficult part for me was that none of my classmates, none of my friends survived. I am the only one. I think about it. The only reunion I can have is in this place among the memorial stones….” Sidney Zoltak Then, turning to Stanislaw Krynski, the son of his rescuer, he said, “I feel like kissing him.” A Reunion with His Rescuer Eli Rubenstein, Director of Education for the International March of the Living, recalled the 2014 reunion between Sidney and Zygmunt as a singularly moving moment. At the time, he told Zygmunt Krynski: “Our tradition says, if you save one life, you save the entire world. I want to thank you on behalf of the March of the Living for not just saving Sidney and his family, but for giving us hope in humanity. Your courage, your bravery is a story we will share with thousands of students around the world. So we can teach them that the world we want to create is not the world that Hitler wanted to build, of endless hate and division and animosity, but the kind of world that you tried to build, of nobility, of sacrifice and courage. So thank you again for helping us give the young people hope in humanity.” Eli Rubenstein To which Sidney added: “I would like to add something. Any Jew that passed by this house always got some sort of help, whether it was food or water or maybe a little time to rest. So, his family, his parents, were righteous way, way, way back, not only to the seven of us who eventually survived, but for many other Jews….” Sidney Zoltak Remembering Holocaust Survivor Sidney Zoltak & His Rescuer Zygmunt Krynski. Watch on YouTube Sidney and Zygmunt’s reunion was captured by the CBC and the March of the Living Digital Archive Project, both of which included the scene in documentaries they created on Sidney’s life. The Documentaries CBC Documentary March of the Living Digital Archive Project Documentary Evan Zelikovitz, the lay founder of the March of the Living Digital Archive Project, reflected on his friendship with Sidney: “I feel privileged to have gotten to know Sidney during our many trips together on the March of the Living. He was both a dear friend and a mentor to me. Sidney felt this extraordinary responsibility to educate others and tell his family’s story of survival, and he did that in such an eloquent and meaningful way. Being able to reunite Sidney and his son Larry in 2014 with Righteous Among the Nations Zygmunt Krynski, who convinced his parents to hide Sidney and his family in their farmhouse in Poland for 16 months, was one of the most emotional and meaningful experiences of my life. And then to have the CBC film share a nationally televised special on it for the entire country to see was incredibly moving.” Evan Zelikovitz Sidney Zoltak with Zygmunt Krynski at the Krynski family farm.Photo: Katka Reszke Song of the Partisans Sidney at the 2013 Canadian March of the Living program honoring survivors, partisans and Righteous Among the Nations, University of Warsaw, April 6, 2013. Video not loading? Watch on YouTube A Bond That Endures Upon learning of Sidney’s passing, Rafal Krynski, Zygmunt Krynski’s grandson, wrote a condolence note to the Zoltak family on the website of the Claims Conference: “My deepest condolences to you and your family. Sidney will always hold a special place in our hearts. The bond between our families will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace.” Rafal Krynski Sidney’s son Larry replied: “Your grandfather and great-grandparents are the reason I am alive, and for this we will never ever forget their kindness and are forever in their debt.” Larry Zoltak As the rabbis of old taught us: The righteous need no monuments — it is the lessons they have taught us that are their true memorials. May the life of Sidney Zoltak, and the lessons it still teaches, continue to provide comfort to his family and inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing him. Baruch Dayan Emet May his memory be a blessing.

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Marking 90 Years Since the Winter & Summer Olympics in Germany

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.lc-date{font-family:'Raleway',Arial,sans-serif !important;font-size:14px;color:#4a5570 !important;margin:0 0 1em}@media (max-width:767px){.lc36 .lc-dek{font-size:19px}.lc36 .lc-article{padding:20px}.lc36 .lc-article h3{font-size:22px}.lc36 .lc-article .lc-right,.lc36 .lc-voice .lc-right{float:none;width:auto;max-width:260px;margin:0 auto 1.4em}.lc36 .lc-toc{padding:18px 18px}} The 1936 Winter Olympics opening ceremony with Rudolf Hess, IOC president Henri de Baillet-Latour, and Adolf Hitler How Nazi Germany co-opted the Olympics – and how the world went along Compiled by Eli Rubenstein, Director of Education, International March of the Living In 2026 March of the Living is marking the 90th anniversary since the infamous Nazi Olympics held in Berlin in 1936 Table of ContentsThe Olympics as PropagandaThe Nuremberg Laws and the 1936 Olympic GamesThe 1936 Nazi Olympics: A Case Study in Antisemitism, Racism, Indifference, Ambition & CowardiceInternational Boycott MovementsThe 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria: A Prelude to the 1936 “Nazi” Summer Olympics in BerlinWorldwide Jewish and Black Participation at the 1936 Summer OlympicsConclusionIOC under fire for selling Nazi-era Olympic Games T-shirt (CNN Article - Feb 13, 2026)1936 Olympic TimelineAppendix: Voices Opposed to Participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics IThe Olympics as Propaganda According to historians Richard Menkis and Harold Troper: “The Olympic Charter proclaimed the power of athletic and sporting competition as a tool for the promotion of peace and unity between people and nations. Fundamental to this Olympic vision of peace and harmony through sporting excellence was the expectation that the Olympic Games must take place in an atmosphere of mutual respect and without the burden of political, religious, or racial prejudice.” The 1936 Nazi Olympics, which what the 1936 Berlin Olympics essentially constituted, were hijacked by Hitler and his propagandists, violating virtually every aspect of the high-minded Olympic ideals referred to above. Nazi Germany’s racial ideology proclaimed the Germans as the “Master Race”, and the Berlin Olympics were the ideal venue within which their physical supremacy could be showcased. Equally important, Nazi Germany hoped to burnish its reputation among the nations of the world, by games in the history of the event. Thus, for a period, Nazi officials ordered most examples of persecution against the Jews and other minorities to be hidden until after the games were completed. Finally, a successful Olympic event would further cement Hitler’s rule and popularity among the local German population. Note: In 1936 both the Olympic Winter and Summer Games were held in Germany - both were used by Nazi Germany for propaganda purposes. The Olympic Winter Games took place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen from February 6–16, with 672 athletes from 28 nations competing. The Olympic Summer Games were held in Berlin from August 1–16, with 3963 athletes from 49 nations competing. Unless otherwise indicated, the Olympics being referred to in this document are the Summer Olympics in Berlin. IIThe Nuremberg Laws and the 1936 Olympic Games In 1935, the Nazis passed the infamous Nuremberg Laws, which essentially made German Jews non-persons and removed German Jews from German society. (Article 4/1 of the Order proclaimed, “A Jew cannot be a citizen of the Reich. He cannot exercise the right to vote; he cannot hold public office.”) Jews were subject to the full weight of the law but were afforded no protection of the law. “Their social death was complete”, in the words of the above-mentioned historians. The 1935 Nuremberg Laws initially mentioned only Jews. The laws were eventually expanded to include Black people and Roma and Sinti (Gypsies) living in Germany, who were also now labelled as racial aliens and denied a place in society. Yet, in anticipation of the world’s eyes being turned on Germany during the 1936 Olympics, Hitler and his henchmen delayed the full implementation of the Nuremberg Laws until after the Olympics were completed. This allowed Nazi Germany’s propaganda efforts during the Olympics to succeed in fooling the world to the point where the New York Times opined – after the conclusion of the games - that the 1936 Olympics put Germans "back in the fold of nations," and even made them "more human again." When the summer games were over, Germany exalted in its victory, with 89 German medals vs. 56 for the US. Then Nazi Germany soon followed suit with its ever-increasing persecution of Jews and other minorities and its pursuit of his military goals. German Jewish diarist Victor Klemperer warned that as soon as the games concluded, the Nazis would “first of all take things out on the Jews.” As the local SA sang, “Wann die Olympiade ist vorbei, / schlagen wir die Juden zu Brei.” (When the Olympics are over, we’ll beat the Jews to a pulp.) Just a few short years later, the world would learn the full extent of Nazi Germany’s deception and the true intention of their evil designs. IIIThe 1936 Nazi Olympics: A Case Study in Antisemitism, Racism, Indifference, Ambition & Cowardice Soon after Hitler took power, Nazi Germany began to prohibit Jews from almost all aspects of civic life, including participating in sports. Jews were excluded from German sport and recreational facilities and German sports clubs. As early as April 1933, the German Swimming Association banned Jews from its member clubs. The German Boxing Federation forbade Jews to fight in or officiate over German championship contests. Jews people were excluded from hiking and other outdoor activities organized by German Alpine clubs and banned from public swimming pools. An editorial in the popular and viciously antisemitic Der Stürmer stated: “We need waste no words here. Jews are Jews, and there is no place for them in German sport. Germany is the Fatherland of Germans and not Jews, and the Germans have the right to do what they want in their own country.” Despite pledging that racism would not occur, the Nazis excluded Jews, Roma and Sinti, who were successful German athletes in the 1930s, from the 1936 Olympics. Examples include: Erich Seelig, Boxer, expelled from the German Boxing Association. Daniel Prenn, Tennis, was removed from Germany’s Davis Cup Team and banned from international competition. Gretel Bergmann, High Jump, was expelled from her German Club in 1933 and from the National Team in 1936. Left to right: Gretel Bergmann, high jumper removed from the 1936 Olympic team days before the Games; Daniel Prenn, Germany’s top tennis player excluded by the Nazis (Yad Vashem / Bundesarchiv). Helene Mayer, USHMM Nazi Germany did allow two half Jews (Mischlinge) whose fathers were Jewish (but not their mothers) to represent Germany at the 1936 Olympics: Helene Mayer who won a silver medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and Rudi Ball, a German ice hockey player who played in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Mayer, who did not consider herself Jewish, and Ball, who played according to some accounts to protect his family in Germany, were the only two exceptions. Of course, Nazi Germany used their participation as window dressing to cover up their overall policy of excluding German Jews from participation in the 1936 Olympics. German author Oliver Hilmes:“Berlin 1936: sixteen days in August” “The strategy of the token Jew was developed by the Americans, and not by the Nazis. The question the international community kept asking at this time was, how would Nazi Germany treat Jewish sportsmen and Jewish people? “And so, the American sports officials developed the idea that Germany should take one or two Jewish sports people in their Olympic team. And that would be enough to convince the Americans to come to Berlin.” “Hitler’s sports officials said, okay we take one token Jew, and that was the price Germany had to pay for the US to come to Berlin. And so, the US came to Berlin, and Hitler had his victory.” https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-the-nazis-token-jew-turned-the-1936-berlin-olympics-into-a-propaganda-win/ IVInternational Boycott Movements Up until the start of the 1936 winter and summer Olympics in Germany, international movements arose to boycott Nazi Germany’s Olympics because of their antisemitic and racist policies. Groups in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands lobbied their countries to boycott the 1936 Berlin Olympics. None of them succeeded. Among the reasons for their failure were: Local antisemitism (Avery Brundage, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)) was infamous for holding racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic beliefs. Personal ambition and greed. Naïve belief that the Nazi-sponsored games would further human relations between competing countries. Trusting Nazi Germany’s declarations that the games would be free from any taint of racial discrimination. Contending that sports must be separate from political considerations. VThe 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria: A Prelude to the 1936 “Nazi” Summer Olympics in Berlin The 1936 German Winter Olympics began on Feb. 6, 1936, in the alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, in southern Germany. Not far away was Dachau, the infamous concentration camp founded in March 1933, and regarded as the first and longest-running Nazi concentration camp. Dachau was initially used to imprison political opponents. Later prisoners included homosexuals, Roma and Sinti, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and, of course, German Jews. According to Berlin-based journalist Paul Hockenos, the 1936 winter Olympics were a “spectacle… meticulously orchestrated by the Nazis to showcase Germany’s ostensible civility—in other words, to mask its nefarious intentions—as well as to test-run for the Summer Games.” Support for Germany to host both the winter and summer games came from the American Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage, who resisted calls to boycott the German Olympics over its treatment of German Jews. After witnessing overt antisemitism on his visit to Germany in 1934 – including signs saying, “Don’t buy from Jews,” “The Jews are our misfortune,” and “No Jews allowed” - Brundage countered: “In my club in Chicago, Jews are not permitted either.” In part because of Brundage’s stubborn (and false) insistence that Jews were not discriminated against in German sport or Germany, the US Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), eventually voted in 1935—58 to 56—to participate in the games. Thus, on Feb. 6, 1936, Hockenos writes: “With pomp and marching bands, the 10-day Olympics commenced at the new ski stadium when Hitler, in a long, black leather coat and surrounded by the IOC brass and Nazi higher-ups, opened the Games that morning….The winter events spanned figure skating, speed skating, men’s hockey, bobsled, cross-country skiing, and, for the first time, downhill skiing. The 646 athletes from 28 countries, including Japan, Turkey, and Yugoslavia, made it the largest Winter Games ever at that time.” “The 1936 Winter Olympics counted as a slam dunk for Hitler: The international extravaganza played straight into his wheelhouse, postponing the day that the world would condemn the regime.” “On the day of the closing ceremony, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels wrote in his diary: “Everyone is praising our organization. It was also dazzling. A wonderful picture at the end. Framed by the eternal mountains. Then the fire goes out. The Winter Games are over.” Like what happened before the summer Olympics in Berlin that were to follow, in Garmisch, all antisemitic signage was scrubbed before the hundreds of thousands of sports fans began visiting the town in February 1936. And like the summer Olympics, virtually all German Jewish athletes were banned from both games (with two notable exceptions: hockey player Rudi Ball and fencer Helene Mayer, both half Jews who the Nazis used in a tokenistic and propagandistic fashion, to cover up their overall ban on German Jewish participation in sports. In fact, by 1935, Germany had banned all Jewish athletes from its sporting leagues.) Immediately after the Games in Garmisch and Berlin, the Nazis dropped their façade and only intensified their persecution of Jews across Germany on their path to implementing the Final Solution. Both the winter and summer games of 1936 were critical historical points in this journey of deception that ultimately made the world’s greatest athletes complicit in what was to be one of the world’s greatest crimes. See: https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/06/olympics-winter-germany-hitler-history/ VIWorldwide Jewish and Black Participation at the 1936 Summer Olympics Some athletes decided to boycott the games for moral reasons. Jeremiah Mahoney, leader of the Amateur Athletic Union in the US, stated that American participation in the Berlin Games meant "giving American moral and financial support to the Nazi regime, which is opposed to all that Americans hold dearest." According to Menkis and Troper, Canadian Jewish boxers Sammy Luftspring and Norman “Baby” Yack’s expressed their disappointment at not being able to represent Canada but stated that they “have gone into the question very carefully with our families and friends in the community” and knew in good conscience they could not act differently…., “the German Government is treating our brothers and sisters worse than dogs … We would have been very low to hurt the feelings of our fellow Jews by going to a land that would exterminate them if it could.” Yet a fair number of black and Jewish athletes from countries outside of Germany did participate in the Olympics. Many succeeded in winning a medal, which some viewed as a victory over the Nazis. But the games themselves were not without racial controversies: Athletes from several countries gave Adolf Hitler the Nazi salute as they marched into the stadium in Berlin, although they later claimed they thought they were giving the Olympic salute. Hitler and Baldur von Schirach together at a Youth rally at the 1936 Nuremberg Party Congress. Bundesarchiv.Nazi youth leader Baldur von Schirach quoted Hitler as saying: “The Americans should have been ashamed of themselves for allowing their medals to be won by Negroes. I would never have shaken this Negro’s [Owens’s] hand.” When he suggested that Hitler be photographed with Owens, Hitler yelled back: “Do you really think I’d allow myself to be photographed, shaking the hands of a Negro??” American Jewish runners Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller were, at the last minute, replaced by black athletes Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe in the 400-meter relay. Many saw this change as a concession to Nazi anti-Semitism. Nazi minister Albert Speer wrote that Hitler "was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvelous colored American runner, Jesse Owens. People whose antecedents came from the jungle were primitive, Hitler said with a shrug; their physiques were stronger than those of civilized whites and hence should be excluded from future games." Irving "Toots" Meretsky was the only Jewish member of the Canadian Olympic basketball team. He ventured into Jewish neighborhoods in Berlin to deliver letters from Canadian Jewish families to their relatives in Berlin. He later wrote, "No one was on the streets, and the shades were drawn. I knocked at a few doors and was finally let in. It was obvious they were all scared.” According to historians Menkis and Troper Jewish achievements in sport were antithetical to Nazi ideology. According to Nazi doctrine, they wrote: “…. Jews prospered not through animal strength but through unbridled satanic cunning. Negating previous Jewish achievements in sport and athletics, Jews were commonly caricatured by the Nazi propaganda machine as physically weak and repulsive bogeymen – short, fat, beady-eyed, round-shouldered, and hook-nosed. They were hardly fit competition for the fraternity of strong white Olympic combatants. As a result, if Black athletic success validated Nazi racial theory, any comparable Jewish success served to undermine it.” 1 1 George Eisen, “Jews and Sport: A Century Retrospective,” Journal of Sport History 26 (1999), 225–39, quoted in More than Just Games: Canada & the 1936 Olympics, Richard Menkis & Harold Troper, University of Toronto Press, 2015 VIIConclusion Sports, at its finest, should provide the ultimate level playing field for all. All members of the human family should be judged by only one criterion – their ability to perform a given athletic challenge. When living up to this ideal, sports can become a vehicle through which all of humanity can celebrate each other’s achievements. But the 1936 Nazi Olympics were a demonstration of the exact opposite value system. Both the 1936 Winter and Summer Olympics in Germany offered the world an opportunity to take a moral stance against Germany’s hate-filled policies against Jews and other minorities. By boycotting the Olympics, the world could have upheld the Olympic ideals of equality, peace and mutual respect, which are the right of every human being on this planet. Instead, fooled by Germany's deceptions or blinded by ambition and greed, the world caved and allowed Nazi Germany to stage the 1936 Olympics, affording it a platform for its propaganda while camouflaging its true intentions. As the United States Holocaust Museum concludes: “Despite the exclusionary principles of the 1936 Games, countries around the world still agreed to participate…The Nazis promoted an image of a new, strong, and united Germany while masking the regime’s targeting of Jews and Roma, as well as Germany’s growing militarism. The many nations that sent teams to the 1936 Olympics legitimized the Adolf Hitler regime both in the eyes of the world and of the German domestic audience.” Within a few years, Germany would launch the world into World War II, resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of innocent people, including 6 million Jews. The 1936 Olympic Games in Germany were one of many avoidable stepping stones along the way that facilitated this disastrous outcome. Has the world learned anything since? MARCH OF THE LIVINGThe 1936 Nazi Olympics and the March of the Living The goals of the March of the Living include the following: To never again allow for the unchecked rise of the menace of antisemitism or any kind of discrimination directed by any individual or group against another to gain strength To teach the world that all human beings deserve equal dignity and respect To inspire participants to commit to building a world free of oppression and intolerance, a world of freedom, democracy and justice, for all members of the human family The 1936 Nazi Olympics violated virtually all of the above tenets. In 2026, March of the Living shed light on the ominous legacy of the 1936 Nazi Olympics and contrast it to the values we are trying to teach our young March of the Living participants. To this end, we are highlighting the following themes: The importance of standing up against any form of antisemitism, racism or intolerance. Too many individuals and organizations in the 1930s turned a blind eye to the practises of Nazi Germany leading up to the 1936 Olympic Olympics. Honoring the brave actions of those individuals – both Jewish and non-Jewish – who did take a courageous stand against participating in the 1936 Olympics. Remembering the achievements of Jews in sports pre, during and the post Holocaust era. Paying tribute to the 12 murdered individuals (11 Israelis in the Israeli Olympic delegation and one German policeman) whose lives were taken by terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics. VIIIIOC under fire for selling Nazi-era Olympic Games T-shirt (CNN Article - Feb 13, 2026) CNN · February 13, 2026 IOC under fire for selling Nazi-era Olympic Games T-shirt The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been criticized for selling merchandise commemorating the 1936 Berlin games, which Adolf Hitler used to showcase his Nazi ideology. The website for the Olympics — currently in the spotlight due to the ongoing Milan Cortina Winter Olympics — features a men’s T-shirt marking the controversial Nazi games. The garment, which is showing as “out of stock,” is part of the IOC’s “Heritage Collection.” The T-shirt features the original poster for the 1936 games, designed by Franz Würbel. It depicts an athletic male figure crowned with a laurel wreath and with the Olympic rings in the background. The Brandenburg Gate sits beneath him, with the caption: “Germany Berlin 1936 Olympic Games.” The landing page for the Heritage Collection on the Olympics website states: “Each edition of the Games reflects a unique time and place in history when the world came together to celebrate humanity.” Hitler used the games, held three and a half years after the Nazis came to power, as a spectacle of Nazi propaganda. He set out to showcase the racial superiority of so-called Aryan athletes and openly denigrated African-American participants as “non-humans.” Nevertheless, African American athlete Jesse Owens emerged as the star of the games, taking to the podium to collect four gold medals, surrounded by people giving the Nazi salute. Christine Schmidt is the co-director of the Wiener Holocaust Library in London, the world’s oldest archive of Holocaust materials. She told CNN: “The Nazis used the 1936 Olympics to showcase their oppressive regime to the world, aiming to smooth over international relations while at the same time preventing almost all German-Jewish athletes from competing, rounding up the 800 Roma who lived in Berlin, and concealing signs of virulent antisemitic violence and propaganda from the world’s visitors. “The Nazis’ fascist and antisemitic propaganda infiltrated their promotion of the games, and many international Jewish athletes chose not to compete. The IOC would be minded to consider whether any aesthetic appreciation of these games can be comfortably separated from the horror that followed.” The decision to sell the T-shirt was also criticised by Scott Saunders, CEO of International March of the Living, an annual educational program that will this year see around 8,000 people gathered at the former Auschwitz death camp to commemorate the Holocaust. He told CNN: “As the world reflects on this latest controversy, it is impossible not to recall that we are approaching 90 years since the 1936 Berlin Olympics — an event the Nazi regime used to legitimize itself on the global stage while persecution of Jews was already well underway. “Sport has the power to unite, to inspire, and to elevate the very best of humanity. But history reminds us that it can also be manipulated to sanitize hatred and normalize exclusion. The lesson of Berlin is urgent. When antisemitism resurfaces in public life, whether in stadiums, streets, or online, silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.” The IOC defended its decision to produce and sell the T-shirt. In a statement sent to CNN, an IOC spokesperson said the Olympic Heritage Collection “celebrates 130 years of Olympic art and design” and features all previous games. The spokesperson added: “While we of course acknowledge the historical issues of ‘Nazi propaganda’ related to the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games, we must also remember that the Games in Berlin saw 4,483 athletes from 49 countries compete in 149 medal events. Many of them stunned the world with their athletic achievements, including Jesse Owens. “The historical context of these Games is further explained at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. For the 1936 edition, the number of T-shirts produced and sold by the IOC is limited, which is why they are currently sold out.” Link to Article: https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/sport/ioc-nazi-era-t-shirt-scli-intl-spt IX1936 Olympic Timeline 1931May 13The International Olympic Committee awards the 1936 Summer Olympics to Berlin.1933January 30Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by President von Hindenburg.MarchThe city of Cologne prohibits Jews from using city playgrounds and sports facilities.March 22Dachau, the first concentration camp, opens. Political opponents of the Nazi’s are detained.April 1The first state-directed boycott of Jewish shops and businesses.April 4The German Boxing Federation excludes Jewish boxers from participating in competitive bouts and orders the cancellation of all contracts involving Jewish promoters.April 7The first Nazi laws excluding Jews from Civil Service, medical professions and the Arts are enacted. Schools and universities are Aryanized. Jewish children are denied access to public education.April 25The Nazi’s Sports Office orders public sport and gymnastic organizations to implement an “Aryans only” policy. Until May, exceptions are made for Jewish war veterans and the families of Jewish soldiers who had died in the war.June 2The Prussian Ministry of Science orders all Jewish youths expelled from village, city, county, and district groups of physical education associations and organizationsJuly 14A law is enacted to permit the forced sterilization of Roma and Sinti (“Gypsies”), the mentally and physically disabled, African-Germans and others considered “unfit.” East European Jewish immigrants stripped of German citizenship.Sept/Oct“Non-Aryans” are prohibited from being professional or amateur jockeys.1934March 7The Reich Youth Leadership prohibits German Jewish youth groups from wearing uniforms.1935“Olympic training courses” for Jews are established by the Nazis to deflect international criticism about Nazi policies. None of the participants are permitted to partake in the Olympics.June 19The Baden Minister of Interior prohibits group hikes and similar activities for all non-National Socialist youth groups.September 15“Nuremberg Laws,” anti-Jewish racial laws are enacted. Jews lose the right to German citizenship and to marry Aryans. Sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews are forbidden. Aryan women under age 45 cannot work in Jewish homes.November 14Following the lead of Great Britain, the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada votes in favour of Canada’s participation in the 1936 Olympic Games with no discussion of the boycott movement or anti-Jewish racial laws in Germany.December 3The Nazi government issues an order to “remove all signs and posters relating to the Jewish question” in the region of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, so as not to endanger international support for the Berlin Games.1936February 6-16The Winter Olympics open at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps. Prior to the Winter Games, the Garmisch-Partenkirchen town council passed an order to expel all Jews in its jurisdiction, but it waits until after the Olympics to implement the antisemitic decree. Anti-Jewish signs are temporarily removed.March 7German troops reoccupy the Rhineland.July 12The Sachsenhausen concentration camp opens. Camp inmates are kept out of public sight, withdrawn from forced labour on road construction or on railway lines during the summer of the 1936 Olympics. By the end of 1936, the camp holds 1,600 prisoners.Mid-JulyThe Olympics stadium in Berlin is completed two weeks before the games after being plagued by construction delays.July 16About 800 Roma and Sinti (“Gypsies”) are interned in the Berlin district of Marzahn.July 20The first modern Olympic torch relay begins in Athens. The final runner reaches the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on August 1 during the opening ceremonies.August 1-16The Summer Games take place in Berlin.August 18Two days after the Olympics, Captain Wolfgang Fürstner, Head of the Olympic Village, kills himself because he is dismissed from active military services due to his Jewish ancestry. SOURCESSources More than Just Games: Canada and the 1936 Olympicsby Richard Menkis (Author), Harold Troper (Author)University of Toronto Press, 2015   Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936by David Clay Large (Author) -W. W. Norton & Company, 2007   The Other Nazi OlympicsBy Paul HockenosArticle in Foreign PolicyFebruary 6, 2026   www.vhec.org/1936_olympics/ www.ushmm.org www.yadvashem.org/ XAppendixVoices Opposed to Participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics A.A.U. Boycotts 1936 Olympics Because of the Nazi Ban on Jews; Governing Body of American Sport Calls on American Olympic Association to Take Like Stand at Meeting Tomorrow -- Pledge Against Discrimination Said to Be Violated. The New York Times, Nov. 21, 1933 The Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, the largest sports-governing body in the world, voted almost unanimously today to boycott the 1936 Olympic Games at Berlin unless there is a change in the attitude of the Hitler government toward Jews in sport. Whereas sport is the greatest if not the only true democracy in America, all therein being equal irrespective of race, color, religion or social or financial conditions; and Whereas both the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States of America and the American Olympic Association were founded and exist upon these basic principles; and Whereas the Olympic Games of 1936 were awarded to the city of Berlin by the International Olympic Committee; and Whereas it is our understanding and belief that, at the time of such award, the German Olympic committee, representing itself and also the organizing committee of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, accepted the games upon the basic principle of sports competition as herein referred to and reiterated its continued adherence to said principles as late as June of 1933; and Whereas it is believed and is common and universal knowledge that the German Olympic Committee and the Berlin organizing committee, under and by reason of the decrees and directions of the government of Germany, have violated the code of the Olympic Games and the fundamental ideals of sports competition in that they have deprived Germans of Jewish descent or belief from the rights of Olympic competition, if not by direct restriction, certainly indirectly by the withdrawal from them of the rights of German citizenship and of a reasonable opportunity to train, prepare for and take part in sports competition in general and in the Olympic Games in particular. Rabbi Maurice EisendrathRabbi, Holy Blossom Temple, Head of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (1943 – 1973) In his sermon on Yom Kippur, the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar that in 1936 fell just one month after the close of the Games in Berlin, the rabbi offered a vision of the future made bleak by the Christian world’s unwillingness to deny the Nazis their moment of Olympic victory. This, Eisendrath lamented, proved to be a failure of Olympic proportions. It crushed what he regarded as the last best hope of undercutting the Nazi regime. As a result, Christendom had left the Nazis triumphant, while consigning German Jews to an unimaginable fate. By failing the test of humanity, Eisendrath proclaimed, Christendom had also relegated itself to moral darkness: “thus spread their pagan and poisonous doctrines to the four corners of the earth with the inevitable consequence that havens of refuge which might have been mercifully opened to the harried and hunted Jew are now flung tightly closed, for as myriads of superficially tourists told me this past summer, after a few days visit to the Nazi Reich: “Now I understand why Germany had to rid herself of the Jews.” And what is “destructive and deadly” to one land, must be likewise so in others. Such is the happy fruitage of the Olympic Games as we begin to recognize that what appeared three years ago to be but the darkest hour before the dawn was in reality but the first faint shadow of twilight presaging the deep, dark blackness of a seemingly endless night to come. Nay, the watchmen saw not deeply enough three years ago when calmly they announced the breaking of the day. Those faint glints of grey which they discerned upon the far distant horizon, and which they designated as the sure promise of the day, were but the last flickering rays of the setting sun fast sinking into the gaping sea leaving the world, the world of Israel especially cheerless and cold and lost beneath the glowing, starless sky.” Harvey GoldenExecutive Director, Montreal YMHA Given the new Germany’s determination to subvert the Games to further Nazi ends, Golden wondered how anybody could believe that “Olympic ideals can for a moment be maintained in the atmosphere of Nazi Germany. Where the Olympic ideal preaches amity and good fellowship, Nazi Germany glorifies race and war; where the Olympic ideal visualizes fair competition among amateur athletes, lovers of sport for sport’s sake, Nazi ideology visualizes a marshaled army of athletes dedicated to the ideal of “Deutschland über alles.” Golden accused the IOC and its president, Count Baillet-Latour, of being wilfully blind to Nazi oppression and aggression in hope that Berlin could be “the meeting place of all nations and the beginning of a friendly alliance, without which neither peace nor happiness can be realized.” For Golden, the “hypocritical gesture” of removing anti-Jewish signs did not signal any change of heart among the Nazi leaders. Even without signs, the state-authorized terror being inflicted on Jews and others marked as enemies of the state continued while the Nazis milk the Olympics for all its prestige and propaganda value. Golden did not want to aid the Nazis in their plans or, as he put it, “I do not want to see our fine Canadian athletes … used as a catspaw by the Nazi dictatorship … Indeed, I am not willing to direct a body blow at democracy as it has been developed under the British flag, by putting Canada’s best and finest under the cloying, evil influence of Nazi ideology.” Golden also had an answer for those Canadians who regarded it an act of patriotism to support Canadian athletes, and that politics should not be allowed to interfere with sport. Golden claimed it an act of patriotism not to go Berlin, as a way to protect the Canadian commitment to democracy and, idealistically, the Canadian heritage “where races and religions mingle in friendship and equality.” Matthew HaltonCanadian foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star (1931-1938), and the CBC, prior, during and post-World War II & for the BBC As a result of the Olympics, the popular German embrace of Hitler, according to Matthew Halton, was nothing short of a “semi-religious rapture.” Shortly after personally witnessing vicious street-level Nazi barbarism against so-called enemies of the state, Halton warned his Toronto Daily Star readers, “You may not appreciate your democracy now, but some day you will. If you had been with me last week and seen fine men who had been completely broken on the Fascist wheel you would know whereof I speak.” Halton warned Canadians to be watchful “for the first signs of Fascism in your own country.” “Nothing can stop a war now. These Olympics depress me terribly. I see the razzle dazzle but I think of the thousands of Jews in this country who, as soon as the Games are over, will again be tormented and many of them killed. We should have boycotted these games. By coming here, we are encouraging Hitler.”

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Remembering October 7

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We remember the lives taken, the hostages torn from their families, the communities devastated, and the wound carried by the Jewish people everywhere. The attack was meant to leave us frightened, powerless and alone. Instead, amid unbearable grief, Jews around the world came together. We felt the same pain and shared the same responsibility. We were reminded that we are one people. The International March of the Living made a lasting commitment: survivors of October 7 will always march with us. Through our partnership with the Taib Foundation, led by Haim Taib, we are putting that promise into practice. Since the massacre, freed hostages, bereaved families, Nova festival survivors and others who survived that day’s horrors have joined our annual March from Auschwitz to Birkenau, walking alongside Holocaust survivors and students from around the world. SUPPORT THE MARCH Holocaust survivor Naftali Fürst and Freed hostage Eli Sharabi at the 2025 March of the Living At the March of the Living, a special bond forms between Holocaust survivors and survivors of October 7. In an embrace, a shared tear or a hand held along the path, they find an understanding that needs no words. For survivors of Hamas captivity and bereaved families, Holocaust survivors offer living proof that it is possible to rebuild a life after unimaginable horror. In their embrace, they find understanding that needs no words. Seeing the lives the Holocaust survivors have built gives them strength and hope that they, too, can find a way forward. “Resilience is part of the DNA of the Jewish people.” Holocaust survivor Naftali Fürst described embracing freed Oct. 7 hostage Eli Sharabi during the March of the Living. Eli survived 491 days in Hamas captivity and returned to learn that his wife and daughters had been murdered. Naftali wanted him to know that, despite everything, there is hope and that it is possible to rebuild. "When Eli Sharabi was released from captivity, I was deeply shaken. I was reminded again of how I looked at my own liberation. When I met him in Poland, at the March of the Living, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I hugged him and told him that I had been freed after 1,033 days. We didn’t need to speak — we understood each other. Eli’s response captured the spirit that connects them: "Resilience is part of the DNA of the Jewish people." That resilience can be seen at every step of the March of the Living. Holocaust survivors who once arrived at Auschwitz as prisoners return as free Jews and march with freed hostages. Holocaust survivors Irene Shashar and Gita Kaufman with Oct. 7 survivors Agam Berger and Ori Megidish at Auschwitz (Photo: Yossi Zeliger) Holocaust survivors Irene Shashar and Gita Kaufman expressed that bond as they embraced freed hostages Agam Berger and Ori Megidish at Auschwitz: “We experienced horror, but despite everything, we are here. We won.” Near the ruins of the Birkenau crematoria, Agam, who survived 482 days in captivity, played a violin that had itself survived the Holocaust. Its music rose from a place built to silence the Jewish people. Then she declared: Netzach Yisrael lo yeshaker.Am Yisrael Chai.The eternity of Israel will not falter. The people of Israel live. Watch freed hostage Agam Berger performed Shir HaMa’alot with Daniel Weiss Haim Taib, President and Founder of the Taib Foundation: “The sight of returned hostages and families who endured the atrocities of October 7 marching alongside Holocaust survivors through the gates of Auschwitz is a powerful symbol of the strength and resilience of the Jewish people and the people of Israel. As a foundation dedicated to strengthening social resilience and building a brighter future for generations to come, we are proud to partner with the March of the Living, whose mission remains as vital today as ever: to preserve the memory of the past, confront hatred and antisemitism in the present, and help ensure that such horrors are never repeated.” Haim Taib and members of the October 7 delegation in Auschwitz (photo: Elinor Lalush Rotem) On this October 7, we remember not only the horror of that day, but also the unity that followed it: the determination to bring every hostage home, to support those who survived, and to help shattered communities rebuild. That responsibility is not over. At the March of the Living, remembrance is not passive. We carry it forward, together. We bring Holocaust survivors, survivors of October 7, and students from around the world together so that memory inspires responsibility, solidarity, unity, and action. We invite you to be part of this commitment by supporting the March of the Living. Help ensure that the survivors and families of October 7 will always walk beside us. Support the next generation as it carries their stories forward. Am Yisrael Chai.

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Alumni Book Club: The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal

Alumni Book Club · Our Next Selection The Sunflower On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness — by Simon Wiesenthal We remember together. Now we read together. A dying Nazi soldier asks a prisoner for forgiveness. What would you do? While imprisoned in a concentration camp, Simon Wiesenthal was pulled from a work detail and brought to a hospital room. A dying SS soldier wanted to confess what he had done to a Jewish prisoner — any Jewish prisoner — and to be forgiven for it. Wiesenthal listened. Then he stood up and left the room without a word. He spent the rest of his life asking whether that silence was right. Decades later he put the question to others: What would you have done? The second half of the book is their answer — a symposium of theologians, writers, jurists, and fellow survivors, including the Dalai Lama, Harold S. Kushner, Desmond Tutu, Dith Pran, and Harry Wu. They do not agree with each other. That disagreement is the point. Why we chose it Wiesenthal survived the Holocaust and spent the decades that followed pursuing accountability for it. He is not a neutral narrator of this question, and the book does not pretend otherwise. What it offers instead is a structure our alumni already know well: a story that will not resolve into a lesson, held open long enough for a group of people to sit inside it together. It is a short book. It is not an easy one. Come with your answer, and be ready to have it moved. Some of what we will discuss Can forgiveness be granted on behalf of people who are no longer alive to grant it? Is Wiesenthal’s silence a refusal, a mercy, or something else entirely? What is the difference between forgiving, excusing, and forgetting? Where do the responses in the symposium land for you — and why that one? When & Where Sunday November 1, 2026 10AM LA · 12PM CHI · 1PM NY · 6PM UK · Online via Zoom Clocks change that morning. Daylight Saving Time ends in the U.S. at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1 — set your clocks back one hour before we meet. Register Now An English-language book club, open to all alumni. Questions? bookclub@motl.org Alumni Book Club Every selection, in one place See what we are reading now, revisit what we have read together, and sign up to hear about each new title as it is announced. See All Selections March forward. Remember together. 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Remembering Judy Weissenberg Cohen z”l

@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Raleway:wght@500;600;700;800&family=Spectral:ital,wght@0,400;0,500;1,400&display=swap'); .motl-judy{ --navy:#0d2146; --blue:#1c4fa0; --sky:#e8eff9; --yellow:#f6c21b; --ink:#1a1825; --muted:#6b6560; --rule:#e2ddd4; font-family:'Spectral',Georgia,serif !important; color:var(--ink) !important; background:transparent !important; max-width:760px !important; margin:0 auto !important; padding:8px 20px 40px !important; box-sizing:border-box !important; } .motl-judy *{box-sizing:border-box !important;} .motl-judy .jc-dek{ font-family:'Raleway',sans-serif !important; font-weight:700 !important; font-size:19px !important; line-height:1.4 !important; color:var(--navy) !important; margin:0 0 6px !important; } .motl-judy .jc-dates{ font-family:'Raleway',sans-serif !important; font-weight:600 !important; font-size:15px !important; letter-spacing:.06em !important; color:var(--blue) !important; margin:0 !important; } .motl-judy .jc-rule{ width:64px !important; 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background:var(--yellow) !important; border:0 !important; padding:14px 30px !important; border-radius:2px !important; } .motl-judy .jc-cta a.jc-btn:hover,.motl-judy .jc-cta a.jc-btn:focus{background:#ffffff !important;color:var(--navy) !important;} .motl-judy a:focus-visible{outline:2px solid var(--yellow) !important;outline-offset:3px !important;} @media (max-width:600px){ .motl-judy{padding:4px 16px 32px !important;} .motl-judy p{font-size:17.5px !important;} .motl-judy .jc-lead{font-size:19px !important;} .motl-judy .jc-dek{font-size:17px !important;} .motl-judy .jc-cta{padding:28px 20px !important;} } Holocaust Survivor, Educator, Author & Human Rights Activist 1928 – 2026 “The last time I saw my mother” – Judy Weissenberg Cohen sharing her story with March of the Living students in Poland. From the book Witness.Photo: Naomi Harris The International March of the Living mourns the passing of Judy Weissenberg Cohen. A noted survivor of the Holocaust and human rights activist, Judy eloquently and courageously shared her story with thousands of young people on the March of the Living, through her own website, Women and the Holocaust, and through countless speeches and interviews. Her moving memoir, A Cry in Unison, was published in 2020 by the Azrieli Foundation’s Holocaust Survivor Memoirs Program. Judy passed away shortly before Rosh Hashanah, just a few days shy of her 98th birthday. Judy reading to March of the Living participants at Auschwitz-Birkenau.Photo: Courtesy March of the Living Remarks in Her Memory Eli Rubenstein, International March of the Living’s Director of Education, delivered remarks in Judy’s memory during this year’s Kol Nidre services at his Toronto synagogue. Video not loading? Watch on YouTube Judy speaking at a March of the Living commemoration.Photo: Courtesy March of the Living Kol Nidre in Auschwitz Video not loading? Watch on YouTube Read more about Judy in the March of the Living Archive Project. Baruch Dayan Emet May her memory be a blessing. Honor Judy’s Legacy Help the next generation hear the survivors’ testimony and carry it forward. Donate in Her Memory

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When We March Together

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On the road from Auschwitz to Birkenau, a long procession of blue jackets and flags becomes a powerful display of unity. Sukkot is the great Jewish festival of hospitality. We open the fragile walls of the sukkah and invite in the ushpizin, guests from across generations, while welcoming family, friends and strangers to sit beneath one shared roof. For seven days, the sukkah reminds us that belonging is not created by walls of stone, but by the people we gather inside, the stories we tell and the memories we pass from one generation to the next. At the International March of the Living we create one big sukkah of memory and continuity, stretching across countries, communities and generations. It has no canvas walls or roof of branches. Instead, it is formed by thousands of people who gather on Yom HaShoah at Auschwitz-Birkenau to remember those who were murdered and to honor the Holocaust survivors who march beside us. Students from the Montreal delegation to the 2026 March of the Living (Photo: Ryan Blau) Every year, the March brings together thousands of teenagers and adults from dozens of countries to learn, to remember and to commit themselves to ensuring that the Holocaust is neither forgotten nor repeated, against Jews or against any human being. The road from Auschwitz to Birkenau becomes a long stream of blue jackets and flags, a powerful display of unity. Young people walk beside Holocaust survivors, educators, families and adults. They carry the flags of their home countries and the flag of Israel. Different languages rise from the crowd, but the prayers are shared. For two unforgettable weeks, in Poland and Israel, the March becomes a virtual sukkah large enough to hold them all. For many young participants, this is also their first encounter with the extraordinary breadth of the Jewish world. They arrive as separate delegations, then meet peers from communities they may never have encountered before. New friendships form, but something deeper grows alongside them: a sense of shared identity and shared responsibility. Join the March of the Living or help someone else make the journey.Join the MarchHelp a Student March The Brazil Delegation (Photo: Blake Ezra) For Lea, a 15-year-old student from New York, the 2025 March transformed the way she understood her place within the Jewish community. The difficult encounter with the concentration and death camps did not leave her only with grief. It also revealed the strength of Jewish continuity and gave her a sense of safety and belonging at a time of rising antisemitism. "Words cannot describe how devastating it was to spend time in the concentration and death camps. However, it made me feel such immense pride for how far we've come as Jewish people today. The journey home to Israel was beautiful and it filled me with so much strength and love for my religion. In times like these where antisemitism is lurking around every corner, I finally felt safe and loved within this community. This trip allowed me to finally find my people.” That discovery is especially powerful for young people whose Jewish lives have unfolded within a single school, congregation or local community. The March expands their map of the Jewish world. Like a sukkah whose doors are open to guests, it shows them that Jewish life is not confined to one familiar circle, but belongs to a vibrant international community capable of standing together in remembrance and mutual support. Students on the 2026 March of the Living (Photo: Kineret Rifkind) Josh from Toronto experienced that transformation when he marched in 2026. Meeting Jews from around the world reshaped his understanding of Jewish identity and revealed the power of a community united across borders. “The March of The Living has helped me shape my Jewish identity, understand the Jewish international community and realize how important it is to support Israel. Prior to going on the March, I did not realize how powerful the Jewish community could be when we were all together, as I had only been surrounded by one Jewish group. However, after being around Jews from all over the world, and marching with them from Auschwitz, I realized how special it was to be able to have a strong, vibrant International Jewish community. Together, although not knowing each other prior, we were able to support each other and agree on our support for Israel.” The meaning of that unity is intensified by the place in which it unfolds. Auschwitz-Birkenau was designed to isolate, dehumanize and murder. During the March of the Living, the same landscape fills with survivors and young people, flags, voices and Jewish prayers. Remembrance remains at the center, but the presence of Jewish life becomes its own answer to the attempt to erase it. The UK Delegation (Photo: Blake Ezra) Cece from the UK delegation reflected on the resilience revealed by the March: “In Birkenau the grass was waving in the wind, and wildflowers had bloomed. Even with the death laying beneath the surface, these flowers had grown in a place meant for death. This, for me, was hope. Hope for life, the resilience of a people. These flowers are a reminder that despite death and destruction, we are still here. Marching alongside Holocaust survivors and people from all over the world singing the songs of our people, we bloomed.” Like the holiday of Sukkot, the March lasts only a short time, but the experience travels home with its participants. They return with friendships that cross borders and a more personal connection to Jewish history and identity. They discover that they are part of a living, global people and that they have been welcomed into a story much larger than themselves. At the end of Sukkot, the sukkah is taken down but what happened within it remains. In the same way, the flags of the March will eventually be folded, the delegations will fly home and the road between Auschwitz and Birkenau will grow quiet again. But the young people who walked it will remember what it felt like to stand beneath one symbolic roof with survivors and Jews from every corner of the world. They will remember that they were not alone. They will carry home a sukkah of memory built from testimony, a sukkah of unity built from shared experience and a sukkah of continuity that they themselves must now extend to the next generation. Join the March of the Living 2027 or make a Sukkot gift to help a student take part.Join the March 2027Make a Sukkot Gift

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Appell der Holocaustüberlebenden Eva Kuper an Studierende zum Beginn des neuen Studienjahres

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September 2026 Appell der Holocaustüberlebenden Eva Kuperan Studierende zum Beginn des neuen Studienjahres Ein offener Brief über Gewissen, Dialog und Verantwortung im neuen Studienjahr Liebe Studierende, Mein Name ist Eva Kuper. Ich bin Holocaustüberlebende und war mein Leben lang als Pädagogin tätig. Ich wurde 1940 in Warschau geboren, mit meiner Familie im Warschauer Ghetto eingesperrt und als kleines Kind vor der Deportation gerettet. Ich überlebte den Krieg im Versteck. Meine Mutter überlebte nicht. Zu Beginn eines neuen Studienjahres denken Sie wahrscheinlich an Lehrveranstaltungen, Freundschaften und an die Zukunft, die Sie gestalten möchten. Ich bitte Sie, auch darüber nachzudenken, was für ein Mensch Sie werden möchten. Ich habe früh gelernt, wie schnell eine Gesellschaft ihre moralische Orientierung verlieren kann. Der Holocaust begann nicht mit den Gaskammern. Er begann mit Worten, Propaganda, Ausgrenzung und der allmählichen Akzeptanz der Vorstellung, manche Menschen seien weniger wert als andere. Er konnte voranschreiten, weil Hass organisiert wurde und zu viele Menschen schwiegen. Auch die akademische Welt war nicht davor gefeit. Ab 1933 wurden jüdische Professorinnen und Professoren im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland entlassen, und jüdische Studierende waren zunehmenden Einschränkungen ausgesetzt. Bis 1938 waren sie vollständig von deutschen Universitäten ausgeschlossen. Auch Institutionen, die dem Wissen verpflichtet sind, können ihren Auftrag verfehlen, wenn Vorurteile an die Stelle der Wahrheit und Einschüchterung an die Stelle offener Forschung treten. Deshalb muss Bildung mehr sein als die Vorbereitung auf einen Beruf. Sie sollte Sie lehren, kritisch zu denken, Belege von bloßen Behauptungen zu unterscheiden und zu verstehen, dass Intelligenz ohne Gewissen nicht genügt. Eva Kuper beim Marsch der Lebenden gemeinsam mit Studierenden Foto: Ryan Blau Sie kommen in einer Zeit an die Hochschulen, in der Informationen innerhalb von Sekunden verbreitet werden und Unwahrheiten oft schneller unterwegs sind als Fakten. Parolen können ernsthaftes Nachdenken verdrängen, während Empörung leichter belohnt wird als Verständnis. Viele jüdische Studierende kehren zudem mit Ängsten zurück, von denen frühere Generationen hofften, sie würden nie wiederkehren. Manche wurden isoliert oder eingeschüchtert. Manche haben sich gefragt, ob sie Zeichen ihrer Identität verbergen, bestimmte Orte meiden oder darüber schweigen sollten, wer sie sind. Kein Studierender und keine Studierende sollte sich so fühlen müssen. Antisemitismus ist nicht nur ein jüdisches Problem; er ist ein Angriff auf die Wahrheit, die Menschenwürde und die Werte, die Bildung verteidigen soll. Eine Universität oder eine Schule sollten Orte sein, an dem Ideen mit Vernunft geprüft werden, Meinungsverschiedenheiten zu einem ehrlichen Austausch führen und alle Studierenden ohne Angst lernen können. Der Dialog ist eine unserer stärksten Abwehrmöglichkeiten gegen Vorurteile: Er stellt Annahmen auf den Prüfstand, gibt gelebten Erfahrungen Raum und ermöglicht uns, einem Menschen statt einem Stereotyp zu begegnen. Er setzt keine Einigkeit voraus. Er verlangt intellektuelle Redlichkeit und die Anerkennung der Menschlichkeit des Gegenübers. Die Antwort auf Hass ist nicht noch mehr Hass. Schweigen ist jedoch ebenso wenig eine Antwort. Die Antwort liegt in einem Dialog, der mit Mut verbunden ist: Falschinformationen zu hinterfragen, vor einem Urteil zuzuhören, die Wahrheit auszusprechen, ohne andere zu entmenschlichen, und die Würde eines anderen Menschen zu verteidigen, auch wenn dies mit persönlichen Nachteilen verbunden ist. Stehen Sie Mitstudierenden zur Seite, die wegen ihrer Religion, ihrer Hautfarbe, ihrer ethnischen Zugehörigkeit oder ihrer Herkunft Vorurteilen ausgesetzt sind. Schließen Sie Freundschaften über Unterschiede hinweg und schaffen Sie Gelegenheiten für ehrliche Gespräche. Entscheiden Sie sich für Dialog statt Parolen, für Neugier statt vorschneller Annahmen und für Wahrheit statt Bequemlichkeit. Ein Gespräch mag wie eine kleine Handlung erscheinen, doch es kann Vorurteile unterbrechen, bevor sie sich zu Hass verhärten. Eva Kuper gemeinsam mit Studierenden beim Marsch der Lebenden Foto: Ohad Kab Ich habe mein Berufsleben der Bildung und Bildungsverwaltung gewidmet und Programme für Kinder und Erwachsene unterrichtet und geleitet. Seit meinem Ruhestand habe ich meine Geschichte über das Montreal Holocaust Museum, in dessen Vorstand ich tätig bin, mit Tausenden Menschen geteilt und Studierende auf Reisen des Marsches der Lebenden nach Polen begleitet. Immer wieder habe ich erlebt, wie junge Menschen zuhören, nachdenken und sich verändern. Deshalb habe ich weiterhin Hoffnung. Bald werden Überlebende Ihnen nicht mehr persönlich erzählen können, was wir erlebt haben. Unsere Erinnerungen und die Verantwortung, Lügen, Entmenschlichung und Gleichgültigkeit zu erkennen, werden in Ihre Obhut übergehen. Zu Beginn dieses Studienjahres hoffe ich, dass Sie Ihre Seminarräume nicht nur mit Wissen verlassen. Ich hoffe, Sie nehmen Weisheit, Mitgefühl und den Mut mit, für das Richtige einzustehen. Gestalten Sie eine Zukunft, die derer würdig ist, die sie nicht mehr erleben konnten, und aller Generationen, die noch kommen werden. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Eva Kuper Holocaustüberlebende und Pädagogin Foto: Ohad Kab Über Eva Kuper Eva Kuper ist Holocaustüberlebende und Pädagogin. Sie wurde 1940 in Warschau geboren, mit ihrer Familie im Warschauer Ghetto eingesperrt und überlebte den Holocaust im Versteck. Über das Montreal Holocaust Museum und auf Bildungsreisen des Marsches der Lebenden nach Polen hat sie ihre Geschichte mit Tausenden Menschen geteilt. Über den Internationalen Marsch der Lebenden Der Internationale Marsch der Lebenden ist ein Bildungsprogramm, das Jugendliche, junge Erwachsene und Erwachsene aus aller Welt in Polen und Israel zusammenbringt, um die Erinnerung an den Holocaust weiterzutragen. Jedes Jahr nehmen nahezu 10.000 Menschen an dieser gemeinsamen Bildungsreise teil. Den ursprünglichen Brief auf Englisch lesen Teilen Sie Evas Botschaft Geben Sie diesen Brief an Studierende weiter, die ihn lesen sollten. 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Mensaje de Eva Kuper, sobreviviente del Holocausto, a los estudiantes que regresan a las aulas

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display:flex !important;flex-direction:column !important;gap:10px !important; opacity:0 !important;visibility:hidden !important;transform:translateY(10px) !important; transition:opacity .25s ease, transform .25s ease, visibility .25s ease !important} .motl-sticky.is-on{opacity:1 !important;visibility:visible !important;transform:translateY(0) !important} .motl-sticky a{display:block !important;width:44px !important;height:44px !important;border-radius:50% !important; line-height:0 !important;text-decoration:none !important;border:0 !important; box-shadow:0 6px 18px rgba(13,27,54,.28) !important;transition:transform .15s ease !important} .motl-sticky a:hover{transform:translateY(-2px) !important} .motl-sticky .motl-ol__sh--x{border:1px solid #d9d4cb !important} .motl-sticky .motl-ol__sh--x svg{fill:#000000 !important} .motl-sticky svg{width:19px !important;height:19px !important;margin:12.5px auto !important;display:block !important;fill:#ffffff !important} @media (max-width:700px){ .motl-sticky{right:0 !important;left:0 !important;bottom:0 !important;flex-direction:row !important; justify-content:center !important;gap:14px !important;padding:10px 0 12px !important; background:rgba(255,255,255,.96) !important;box-shadow:0 -4px 18px rgba(13,27,54,.14) !important} .motl-sticky a{width:40px !important;height:40px !important;box-shadow:none !important} .motl-sticky svg{width:17px !important;height:17px !important;margin:11.5px auto !important} } @media (max-width:600px){ .motl-ol__share{margin-top:52px !important;padding:34px 20px 36px !important} .motl-ol__share a{width:46px !important;height:46px !important;margin:0 5px !important} .motl-ol__share svg{width:20px !important;height:20px !important;margin:11px auto !important} } @media (max-width:600px){ } @media (max-width:600px){ .motl-ol{padding:0 20px 64px !important} .motl-ol__head{padding-top:44px !important} .motl-ol__deck p{font-size:18px !important} .motl-ol__body p{font-size:18px !important;line-height:1.75 !important} .motl-ol__pull{padding-left:20px !important;margin:36px 0 !important} .motl-ol__pull p{font-size:20px !important} .motl-ol figure{margin:38px 0 !important} } 1 de septiembre de 2026 Mensaje de Eva Kuper, sobreviviente del Holocausto,a los estudiantes que regresan a las aulas Una carta abierta sobre conciencia, diálogo y responsabilidad al comenzar el nuevo año académico Queridos estudiantes, Mi nombre es Eva Kuper. Soy sobreviviente del Holocausto y educadora de toda la vida. Nací en Varsovia en 1940, fui confinada junto con mi familia en el gueto de Varsovia y, cuando era apenas una niña, fui salvada de la deportación. Sobreviví a la guerra escondida. Mi madre no sobrevivió. Al comenzar un nuevo año académico, probablemente estén pensando en las clases, las amistades y el futuro que esperan construir. Les pido que dediquen también un momento a pensar en el tipo de personas que desean llegar a ser. Desde muy joven aprendí lo rápido que una sociedad puede perder su brújula moral. El Holocausto no comenzo con las cámaras de gas. Comenzó con palabras, propaganda, exclusión y la aceptación gradual de la idea de que algunas personas valían menos que otras. Avanzó porque el odio fue organizado y porque demásiadas personas eligieron guardar silencio. El mundo académico tampoco fue inmune. A partir de 1933, los profesores judíos de la Alemania nazi fueron despedidos y los estudiantes judíos enfrentaron restricciones cada vez mayores. Para 1938, habían sido completamente excluidos de las universidades alemanas. Incluso las instituciones dedicadas al conocimiento pueden traicionar su propósito cuando el prejuicio sustituye a la verdad y la intimidación desplaza a la investigación. Por eso, la educación debe ser mucho más que una preparacion para una carrera profesional. Debe enseñarles a pensar críticamente, a distinguir las evidencias de las afirmaciones y a comprender que la inteligencia, sin conciencia, no es suficiente. Eva Kuper marchando junto a estudiantes en la Marcha de la Vida Foto: Ryan Blau Llegan a los campus en un momento en que la información viaja en cuestion de segundos y la falsedad a menudo se propaga más rápido que los hechos. Las consignas pueden reemplazar al pensamiento serio, mientras que la indignación suele recibir más atención que la comprensión. Muchos estudiantes judíos también regresan a las aulas con temores que las generaciones anteriores esperaban que nunca volvieran. Algunos han sido aislados o intimidados. Otros se han preguntado si deberían ocultar símbolos de su identidad, evitar determinados espacios o guardar silencio sobre quiénes son. Ningún estudiante debería sentirse así. El antisemitismo no es solamente un problema de los judíos; es un ataque contra la verdad, la dignidad humana y los valores que la educación debe defender. Una universidad debe ser un lugar donde las ideas sean sometidas a la razón, donde los desacuerdos conduzcan a un diálogo sincero y donde todos los estudiantes puedan aprender sin miedo. El diálogo es una de nuestras defensas más firmes contra los prejuicios: pone a prueba nuestras suposiciones, abre espacio para las experiencias de los demás y nos permite encontrarnos con una persona, en lugar de con un estereotipo. Dialogar no significa estar de acuerdo. Significa ejercer la honestidad intelectual y reconocer la humanidad de la otra persona. La respuesta al odio no puede ser más odio. Pero tampoco puede ser el silencio. La respuesta es el diálogo acompanado de valentía: cuestionar la desinformación, escuchar antes de juzgar, decir la verdad sin deshumanizar y defender la dignidad de otra persona incluso cuando hacerlo tenga un costo. Apoyen a los compañeros que sufran prejuicios por su religión, raza, origen étnico o procedencia. Construyan amistades que atraviesen las diferencias y creen oportunidades para mantener conversaciónes sinceras. Elijan el diálogo en lugar de las consignas, la curiosidad en lugar de las suposiciones y la verdad en lugar de la conveniencia. Una conversación puede parecer un gesto pequeño, pero puede contribuir a detener el prejuicio antes de que se arraigue, se endurezca y termine convirtiéndose en odio. Eva Kuper junto a estudiantes en la Marcha de la Vida Foto: Ohad Kab Dediqué mi vida profesional a la educación y a la administración educativa, ensenando y dirigiendo programás para niños y adultos. Desde mi jubilación, he compartido mi testimonio con miles de personas a través del Museo del Holocausto de Montreal, donde formo parte de la Junta Directiva, y con estudiantes que participan en los viajes de la Marcha por la Vida a Polonia. Una y otra vez, he visto a jóvenes escuchar, reflexionar y cambiar. Por eso sigo teniendo esperanza. Pronto llegará el momento en que los sobrevivientes ya no podremos contarles personalmente lo que vivimos. Entonces, nuestros recuerdos y la responsabilidad de reconocer las mentiras, la deshumanización y la indiferencia quedarán en sus manos. Al comenzar este nuevo año académico, espero que salgan de sus aulas con algo más que conocimientos. Espero que salgan con sabiduría, compasión y el valor necesario para defender lo que es correcto. Construyan un futuro digno de quienes no vivieron para verlo y de todas las generaciones que aún están por venir. Atentamente, Eva Kuper Sobreviviente del Holocausto y educadora Foto: Ohad Kab Acerca de Eva Kuper Eva Kuper es sobreviviente del Holocausto y educadora de toda la vida. Nacio en Varsovia en 1940, fue confinada junto con su familia en el gueto de Varsovia y sobrevivió al Holocausto escondida. Ha compartido su testimonio con miles de personas a través del Museo del Holocausto de Montreal y de los viajes educativos de la Marcha por la Vida a Polonia. Acerca de la Marcha por la Vida Internacional Marcha por la Vida Internacional es un programa educativo que reune en Polonia e Israel a adolescentes, jóvenes y adultos de todo el mundo con el propósito de mantener viva la memoria del Holocausto. Cada ano, cerca de 10.000 participantes forman parte de este viaje educativo. Leer la carta original en ingles Comparte el mensaje de Eva Envia esta carta a un estudiante que necesite leerla. 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On Yom Kippur, I Was Shot Protecting My Synagogue. Now I Carry the Torch.

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22px;line-height:1.1} @media (max-width:1024px){ .mty-inline-cta{display:none} .mty-call{display:flex} .mty-call.mty-call2{display:block} .mty-grid{grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr);padding:0 24px} .mty-aside{display:block;position:static;padding:0;height:0;top:auto} .mty-aside.mty-open{max-height:none;overflow:visible;padding:0} .mty-box{display:none} .mty-panel,.mty-aside.mty-open .mty-panel{position:fixed;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;top:auto;z-index:2147483000;max-height:92vh;overflow-y:auto;-webkit-overflow-scrolling:touch;border:0;border-top:5px solid #FDD000;border-radius:14px 14px 0 0;padding:16px 16px 28px;box-shadow:0 -12px 40px rgba(0,0,0,.3)} .mty-panel{transform:translateY(100%)} .mty-aside.mty-open .mty-panel{transform:none} .mty-scrim{display:block;position:fixed;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;z-index:2147482999;background:rgba(13,27,54,.72);visibility:hidden;opacity:0;transition:opacity .25s ease,visibility 0s linear .25s} .mty-aside.mty-open .mty-scrim{visibility:visible;opacity:1;transition:opacity .25s ease} .mty-panel .mty-panel-t{font-size:22px !important} .mty-body{max-width:none} .mty-bar{display:flex} } @media (max-width:640px){ .mty-head{padding:48px 22px 36px} .mty h1.mty-title{font-size:28px} .mty-dek{font-size:18px} .mty-hero .mty-cap{padding:8px 20px 0 !important} .mty-grid{padding:0 20px} .mty-body p{font-size:18px} .mty-body .mty-body .mty-pull{font-size:30px !important} .mty-call{padding:24px 22px} .mty-call .mty-call-t{font-size:26px !important} .mty-call2 .mty-call-t{font-size:21px !important} .mty-btns{width:100%} .mty-call .mty-btn{display:block;width:100%} } Yoni Finlay survived the 2025 terrorist attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. During the March of the Living, he found a way to honour life and remember those he lost. Yoni Finlay in Auschwitz (Photo: Blake Ezra) One year ago on Yom Kippur, my life changed forever. I was shot while protecting the doors of Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester during a terrorist attack. Badly injured, I underwent seven hours of surgery and spent the next ten days in hospital. I survived. Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, two remarkable men I think about every day, tragically did not. Since the attack, I have looked for ways to honour life and remember those we lost. So, when I was invited to join the 2026 International March of the Living, I welcomed the opportunity to march alongside Holocaust survivors and fellow survivors of antisemitic attacks. Together, we set off on the march. As the shofar was blown, we began the 3.5 km walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau. Israeli flags were waving and 8,000 people walked with us. They did not beat us. The March gives you the extraordinary opportunity to spend time with survivors who rebuilt their lives and now educate the next generation. As Elie Wiesel said, “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” Be a witness.Be a witness.Donate Now Holocaust survivors from the UK delegation on the March (Photo: Blake Ezra) I wasn’t the only one there carrying scars of my own. I met Hannah Abesidon and Eva Wietzen, survivors of the Bondi Beach attack, and Abbie Talmoud and Catherine Szkop, who witnessed the murders of their friends Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky in Washington, D.C. We were asked whether these experiences had made us afraid to be visibly Jewish. I was wearing a kippah, Abbie a Magen David, Hannah a Chai necklace. We all gave the same answer: we were proud to be Jewish, and our pride had only been strengthened. Together, we lit the first torch at the March’s closing ceremony in Birkenau, dedicated to combating antisemitism, alongside Sylvan Adams, President of the World Jewish Congress–Israel, and Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. Lighting the torch against antisemitism (Photo: Blake Ezra) In a symbolic moment, the next torch was lit by the international law enforcement delegation, who had come to pledge their commitment to “Never Again – Not on Our Watch.” I was privileged to address the delegation, and I told them that members of my synagogue were killed and I was injured because hatred had moved from social media and marches into real life. Hate is not abstract. It has consequences, and I am living proof. The community doesn’t feel any safer a year on from Heaton Park. There are more gates and more security than we have ever had. Any event we hold does not have the address displayed on the poster. Our kids go to schools that look like fortresses. Every Jewish building has to have security. Combating antisemitism is not the responsibility of the Jewish community alone. As history has shown, when radicalisation or hate targets Jews first, it threatens the freedom, safety, and human rights of society as a whole. We all have a responsibility to speak up and challenge antisemitism wherever we see it. We did not march only against antisemitism. We also marched for Jewish life and Jewish pride. In Tykocin, I experienced one of the most inspirational moments of the trip. In the synagogue there, built in 1642, we prayed Mincha, then danced, holding hands and singing V’hi She’amdah with survivors. A testament that Jewish life would not just survive but thrive. Dancing with survivors in the synagogue in Tykocin (Photo: Blake Ezra) This instinct to dance rather than surrender was already familiar to me from Yom Kippur. While I was undergoing surgery, our rabbi, Daniel Walker, made the decision that we would carry on and refuse to let the terrorists win. Not a single prayer was missed. The first time I was able to return to my synagogue was Simchat Torah, where we danced like we had never danced before, with defiance. Even in the darkness and the pain, we carry on, and we dance. As the plane lifted off from Warsaw, I made a silent promise to myself: I will be back. I invite you to join me. Join the March of the Living or help someone else make the journey. Join the March of the Living or help someone else make the journey.Join the MarchDonate Now Yom Kippur will never be the same for me. But I know that, as a community, we will carry on. This Yom Kippur, we will return to our Shul. Yes, we are different, but we are still here and we are saying the same prayers that we carried on saying last year. On the March, we prayed, sang and danced in the very places where the Nazis tried to wipe us out, alongside the very people they tried to murder. And we are continuing a story that has endured in every generation, despite those who have tried to stop it. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life, and may the memory of all those murdered because of antisemitism be a blessing. Be a witness.Or help someone else make the journey.“When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.”Donate NowJoin the MarchBe a witness.× 1 Donate Students Select Gift Amount * $1000 $500 $180 $100 $54 $36 $18 OtherOther Fee Opt Out A 4% processing fee helps cover credit card transaction costs. Check this box if you prefer not to include the processing fee. 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Holocaust Survivor Eva Kuper’s Appeal to Students Returning to School

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display:flex !important;flex-direction:column !important;gap:10px !important; opacity:0 !important;visibility:hidden !important;transform:translateY(10px) !important; transition:opacity .25s ease, transform .25s ease, visibility .25s ease !important} .motl-sticky.is-on{opacity:1 !important;visibility:visible !important;transform:translateY(0) !important} .motl-sticky a{display:block !important;width:44px !important;height:44px !important;border-radius:50% !important; line-height:0 !important;text-decoration:none !important;border:0 !important; box-shadow:0 6px 18px rgba(13,27,54,.28) !important;transition:transform .15s ease !important} .motl-sticky a:hover{transform:translateY(-2px) !important} .motl-sticky .motl-ol__sh--x{border:1px solid #d9d4cb !important} .motl-sticky .motl-ol__sh--x svg{fill:#000000 !important} .motl-sticky svg{width:19px !important;height:19px !important;margin:12.5px auto !important;display:block !important;fill:#ffffff !important} @media (max-width:700px){ .motl-sticky{right:0 !important;left:0 !important;bottom:0 !important;flex-direction:row !important; justify-content:center !important;gap:14px !important;padding:10px 0 12px !important; background:rgba(255,255,255,.96) !important;box-shadow:0 -4px 18px rgba(13,27,54,.14) !important} .motl-sticky a{width:40px !important;height:40px !important;box-shadow:none !important} .motl-sticky svg{width:17px !important;height:17px !important;margin:11.5px auto !important} } @media (max-width:600px){ .motl-ol__share{margin-top:52px !important;padding:34px 20px 36px !important} .motl-ol__share a{width:46px !important;height:46px !important;margin:0 5px !important} .motl-ol__share svg{width:20px !important;height:20px !important;margin:11px auto !important} } @media (max-width:600px){ } @media (max-width:600px){ .motl-ol{padding:0 20px 64px !important} .motl-ol__head{padding-top:44px !important} .motl-ol__deck p{font-size:18px !important} .motl-ol__body p{font-size:18px !important;line-height:1.75 !important} .motl-ol__pull{padding-left:20px !important;margin:36px 0 !important} .motl-ol__pull p{font-size:20px !important} .motl-ol figure{margin:38px 0 !important} } Eva Kuper — marching with students on the March of the Living Photo: Ryan Blau In her open letter for the new academic year, the lifelong educator warns that “intelligence without conscience is not enough” and calls on students to challenge misinformation, defend their classmates and choose dialogue over slogans: “Antisemitism is not only a Jewish problem; it is an assault on truth, human dignity and the values education is meant to defend.” Dear Students, My name is Eva Kuper. I am a Holocaust survivor and a lifelong educator. I was born in Warsaw in 1940, confined with my family in the Warsaw Ghetto and saved from deportation as a small child. I survived the war in hiding. My mother did not survive. As you begin a new academic year, you are probably thinking about classes, friendships and the future you hope to build. I ask you to think as well about the kind of person you intend to become. I learned early how quickly a society can lose its moral bearings. The Holocaust did not begin with the gas chambers. It began with words, propaganda, exclusion and the gradual acceptance of the idea that some people mattered less than others. It advanced because hatred was organized and too many people remained silent. The academic world was not immune. Beginning in 1933, Jewish professors in Nazi Germany were dismissed and Jewish students faced growing restrictions. By 1938, they had been excluded from German universities altogether. Institutions devoted to knowledge can still fail their purpose when prejudice replaces truth and intimidation replaces inquiry. That is why education must be more than preparation for a career. It should teach you to think critically, distinguish evidence from assertion and understand that intelligence without conscience is not enough. You are entering campuses at a time when information travels in seconds and falsehood often moves faster than fact. Slogans can replace serious thought, while outrage is rewarded more readily than understanding. Many Jewish students are also returning with fears that earlier generations hoped would not return. Some have been isolated or intimidated. Some have wondered whether to conceal symbols of their identity, avoid certain spaces or remain silent about who they are. No student should be made to feel that way. Antisemitism is not only a Jewish problem; it is an assault on truth, human dignity and the values education is meant to defend. A university should be a place where ideas are tested through reason, disagreement leads to honest dialogue and every student can learn without fear. Dialogue is one of our strongest defenses against prejudice: it tests assumptions, makes room for lived experience and allows us to encounter a person rather than a stereotype. It does not require agreement. It requires intellectual honesty and recognition of another person’s humanity. The answer to hatred is not more hatred. But neither is it silence. The answer is dialogue joined with courage: to question misinformation, listen before judging, speak truth without dehumanizing and defend another person’s dignity even when doing so carries a cost. Stand beside classmates who face prejudice because of their religion, race, ethnicity or background. Build friendships across difference and create opportunities for honest conversation. Choose dialogue over slogans, curiosity over assumption and truth over convenience. A conversation may seem like a small act, but it can interrupt prejudice before it hardens into hatred. Eva Kuper with students on the March of the Living Photo: Ryan Blau I spent my professional life in education and educational administration, teaching and leading programs for children and adults. Since retiring, I have shared my testimony with thousands through the Montreal Holocaust Museum, where I serve on the Board, and with students on March of the Living journeys to Poland. Again and again, I have seen young people listen, reflect and change. That is why I still have hope. Soon, survivors will no longer be able to tell you in person what we witnessed. Our memories—and the responsibility to recognize lies, dehumanization and indifference—will pass into your care. As you begin this academic year, I hope you leave your classrooms with more than knowledge. I hope you leave with wisdom, compassion and the courage to stand for what is right. Build a future worthy of those who did not live to see it, and of every generation still to come. Sincerely, Eva Kuper Holocaust Survivor and Educator Eva Kuper Photo: Ohad Kab About Eva Kuper Eva Kuper is a Holocaust survivor and lifelong educator. Born in Warsaw in 1940, she was confined with her family in the Warsaw Ghetto and survived the Holocaust in hiding. She has shared her testimony with thousands of people through the Montreal Holocaust Museum and on March of the Living educational journeys to Poland. Share Eva’s message Pass this letter on to a student who needs to read it. 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