-
We Have to March This Year and Speak Up Against Antisemitism
This year’s March of the Living may be the last chance for young participants to walk alongside Holocaust survivors and bear witness to their stories. As the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany approaches, the March of the Living takes on a profound urgency. With each passing year, the opportunity to walk alongside Holocaust survivors, to hear their firsthand accounts of unimaginable suffering and resilience. In the shadow of October 7 and the subsequent surge in antisemitism around the world, that urgency has only intensified.In recent months, Holocaust survivors have once again found themselves targeted by antisemitism – this time in their own homes and communities. In Toronto, mezuzahs were torn from the doors of an apartment building housing Holocaust survivors, including Nate Leipciger, (97), a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Dachau. To date, Nate has participated in 21 Marches of the Living, and this year he plans to attend the march on Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 14, for the 22nd time. Holocaust Survivor Nate Leipciger (Photo: Ziv Koren) “Marching together with Holocaust survivors and students from around the world on the 81st anniversary since liberation means the world to me”, said Nate Leipciger, a 97-year-old survivor who will attend his 22nd March this year. “We have to march this year because it might be our last chance – not only to remember, but to stand openly and proudly as Jews, and stand up against antisemitism. I march because I survived. I march to tell the world that we endured. And I march with the young because they are our future. They must never feel they need to hide who they are.”The March of the Living is an educational journey that reclaims history. It transforms the death marches of the Holocaust into a march of remembrance and resilience, honoring those who perished and affirming the survival of the Jewish people. For nearly four decades, the program has brought together Holocaust survivors and hundreds of thousands of students from around the world, bridging generations through memory and shared responsibility. Elie Wiesel’s words, “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness,” guide its mission to create a living legacy of remembrance.In April 2026, on Yom HaShoah, the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day, survivors will once again lead the March alongside thousands of students from across the globe, a powerful testament to the endurance of memory and the resilience of the human spirit. SPONSOR A SURVIVOR Holocaust Survivor Eva Kuper and students at the 2018 March of the Living (Photo: Ryan Blau) Who will remember us when we, the last witnesses, are no longer here? Holocaust survivor Eva Kuper urges participation in the March of the Living: “We, the Holocaust survivors, are a rapidly diminishing group. We are in the last moments of being able to share with young people our firsthand testimonies. Who will remember us when we, the last witnesses, are no longer here? Time is rapidly running out.”“Marching with students allows them to learn and understand our resilience, our strength, and our determination. When the students listen to stories told by survivors like me, they are ready to accept the responsibility of becoming witnesses themselves. It is the legacy that we, the survivors, lay on their shoulders. Let us not squander the opportunity. Let us do our utmost to ensure that our legacy lives on.”Many survivors, like Nate and Eva, hope to march this Yom HaShoahwith students at the International March of the Living in Auschwitz. Holocaust Survivor Nate Leipciger giving testimony to the Canadian Delegation on the March of the Living in an Auschwitz barrack. (Photo: Igal Hecht) To make this possible, they need your help. Ensuring that survivors are able to participate – physically, logistically, and with dignity – is our moral responsibility. Bearing witness to their stories is a sacred duty, a vital link between past and future, and a powerful stand against denial, distortion, and rising antisemitism.Standing with survivors today helps ensure that their voices continue to be heard tomorrow. When the witnesses are gone, what remains is what we chose to carry forward.Your sponsorship empowers them to share their experiences, inspiring new generations to remember and fight against antisemitism. Join us. Stand with the survivors. So the world will never forget. SPONSOR A SURVIVOR
Continue reading -
From Darkness to Light: Holocaust survivors and former Gaza hostages Celebrate Hanukkah together
Held ahead of Hanukkah, Holocaust survivors and freed hostages who marched together at the March of the Living met to reflect…
Continue reading -
87 Years Since Kristallnacht: A Statement from Holocaust Survivors Who Lived Through the 1938 Pogrom
Walter Bingham (101), George Shefi (94), and Paul Alexander (90) (Photo: Sam Churchill) We, Holocaust survivors, lived through the Kristallnacht pogrom as children in Germany.We saw with our own eyes how hatred turned to flames, how indifference became complicity, and how the world stayed silent as Jews were attacked.Today, 87 years later, we look around us and say with deep pain: the world has learned nothing.Once again, Jews are murdered for being Jews. Once again, synagogues are attacked. Once again, universities remain silent in the face of incitement.Hatred of Israel and the Jewish people spreads like a plague.The world today is no safer for Jews than it was 87 years ago. In today’s atmosphere, Kristallnacht could happen again.We call on governments to act decisively to eradicate antisemitism and to strengthen Holocaust education.Learn history. Teach your children what happens when the world stays silent.We say this from a lifetime of experience: antisemitism does not disappear on its own.It grows when met with silence. It thrives where ignorance prevails. It stops only when courageous people – Jews and non-Jews alike – stand up and say: enough.Unlike the glass shattered on Kristallnacht, the Jewish spirit did not break, and will never break.Our spirit is stronger than fire, more stubborn than hate, and shines even in the darkest times.Am Yisrael Chai.Walter Bingham, George Shefi, Paul Alexander
Continue reading -
An Embrace Across Generations
When Holocaust survivors and survivors of October 7 walked…
Continue reading -
“Silence is Not an Option”: Remembering Paula Lebovics, Z”L
International March of the Living mourns the recent passing of beloved Holocaust survivor and educator Paula Lebovics. Over the last few decades, Paula lived up to her lifelong motto, “silence…
Continue reading -
Remembering Ben Lesser Z”L
International March of the Living mourns the passing of Holocaust survivor and educator, Ben Lesser. Ben passed away on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at the age of 96, on…
Continue reading -
84 Years Since Babyn Yar Massacre: Unidentified Victims Names Revealed
On September 29–30, 1941, on the eve…
Continue reading -
Marching to Ponary: Remembering the Lithuanian Jewish Community
Hundreds of students, ambassadors, members of the Jewish community and…
Continue reading