Seniors Take Part in March of the Living

There are few more powerful tributes to the strength of the Jewish spirit than March of the Living, which brings together students from around the world to spend one week in Poland in remembrance of the Shoah, followed by one week in Israel in celebration of the birth of M’dinat Yisrael. Ninety-five Milken seniors traveled overseas on the life-changing trip April 8-22. Accompanied by five Holocaust survivors, students joined teens from around the world and embarked on an emotional and inspirational journey to study the history of the Holocaust.

Poland was the first stop on their trip, where they visited the concentration camps Chelmno, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Majdanek. They also went to the Radagast Train Station— now a Holocaust memorial — in Lodz, where the Jews of the Lodz ghetto were transported to Auschwitz and other concentration camps. They toured the Warsaw Cemetery, Okopowa —  one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe; and Zbylitowska Gora, the site of the mass graves of the Jews of Tarnow— including a mass grave of 800 children. “I had been taught about the Holocaust for as long as I can remember,” said Lauren Okhovat ’18. “However, no other learning experience could ever be as valuable and as powerful as walking into a concentration camp and hearing first-hand testimonies from five survivors.”

After learning about the unspeakable horrors that befell the children, students recited prayers and blessings over the graves. They also wrote cards of prayers and thoughts, hanging them on trees and fences. Okhovat explained how she felt afterward when sitting in the picturesque surrounding forest: “As I sat on a tree stump and looked around me, I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty that was around me. The sun rays shone through the tall trees, the flowers were flowing side to side in the wind, and the birds were playing a soft, peaceful song. I questioned how the world could be filled with so much beauty and yet so much horror.”

On Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), students, led by the survivors, made the 3-kilometer trek along the railroad tracks from Auschwitz to Birkenau in tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. Walking side by side with survivors, and teens from around the world they retraced the steps that hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced to take on the way to the death camps.

“Marching from Auschwitz to Birkenau was extremely powerful, especially doing it alongside 15,000 other Jews,” remarked Mira Berenbaum ’18. “It made me grow an appreciation for the life I live and for my Judaism.”

“I have been learning about the Holocaust for the majority of my life, but it wasn’t until I was standing inside the gates of Auschwitz that I really understood what happened,” said Clara Pitt ’18.

Their week in Poland concluded with a spirited Havdalah at the Nozyk synagogue— the only Warsaw synagogue to survive World War II. They joyfully sang and danced and even crowd surfed into the night. “After witnessing the greatest attempt to wipe out the Jews, a room full of Jewish teenagers full of passion was empowering,” said Jared Hasen-Klein ’18.

Students traveled to Israel for the second leg of the trip. In Jerusalem, they visited the Kotel (Western Wall) where they prayed and reflected and then headed to the beach in Herzliya for a fun afternoon lounging by the water. On Yom Hazikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day), they traveled to Tel Aviv for a memorial ceremony with IDF soldiers at Gan Habanim Memorial, and they celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) in Jerusalem, singing and dancing in Safra Square. They exuberantly marched through the streets to the Kotel and attended a celebration of Israel’s birthday. They also visited Har Herzl, the national cemetery where fallen Israeli soldiers are interred and American “lone soldier” Michael Levin was laid to rest. The final night of the trip ended in Latrun with the mega event— a spectacular dance party and concert celebrating Israel.

As the number of Holocaust survivors declines, the students are well aware that they are the last generation that will be able to hear these firsthand accounts. It is not something they take lightly, and they recognize it is their responsibility to keep those memories alive for future generations. “Their stories are now our stories and we must remember them and tell them to future generations,” expressed Hasen-Klein. “Every single person, Jew or non-Jew, should go on the March of the Living,” he continued. “The places we go on the trip are so important to our history and there is really no other way to get this level of understanding of what happened during the Holocaust.”

“Going on March of the Living was a once in a lifetime experience that will shape my perspective for the rest of my life,” said Okhovat.


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