Native name | Marsz Żywych (Polish), מצעד החיים (Hebrew) |
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Date | March or April annually |
Location | Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland |
Type | March |
Theme | The Holocaust |
Cause | Holocaust remembrance and education |
Participants | Students, Holocaust survivors, dignitaries |
Website | https://motl.org |
The March of the Living (Hebrew: מצעד החיים, Mits'ad HaKhayim; Polish: Marsz Żywych) is an annual educational program which brings students from around the world to Poland, where they explore the remnants of the Holocaust. On Holocaust Memorial Day observed in the Jewish calendar (Yom HaShoah), thousands of participants march silently from Auschwitz to Birkenau.
The March of the Living was founded in 1988, under the leadership of Israeli Likud politician Abraham Hirchson, Shmuel Rosenman, and Israeli attorney Baruch Adler, a child of a Holocaust survivor who was hidden by one of the Righteous Among the Nations.[1][2][3] Since its inception, almost 300,000 participants – including world leaders, educators, Holocaust survivors and students – have taken part in the program.[4][5]