Day 4 - March

Guest blogged by Jori Epstein and Ben Romaner
The emotions of the actual match are not surprisingly a little complex. On the one hand we are walking through the place in which millions of our fellow brethren were tortured, starved, and murdered. On the other hand, we are walking through these tragic places as Jews with pride. Ten thousand teenagers,survivors, and liberators come from all over the world to wave Israeli flags without fear of such public Zionism, and march from Auschwitz to Birkenau as a dis play to the nazis down below that their Final Solution failed. We are alive and vibrant all around the globe, and where are they? But we can't forget  what  it took to get here and how easily such genocides can and do happen again. It seemed all too easy that the list of the 1.5 million children from whose names were broadcasted today could have been a roster of friends, family, loved ones. Oddly enough, that's exactly what the list was: those we must remember lived the same lives we do now and suddenly, their towns were invaded, their possessions taken from them, and forced into ghettos and concentration camps. 
After thinking about the casualty with which the Holocaust began and thrived, the consequences held more meaning. Not just the memories but the current center of Jewish life in the world: Israel. Though we've studied current-day Israel advocacy in JTL all semester, now we better understand the roots of the country and its necessity despite the conflict other nations unfortunately draw from it.
People come from all over the world to participate in the march uniting the love of Israel among the future Jewish leaders of the world. Together we learn and experience knowledge about the holocaust ingraining it into the minds of young people so that they pass the message on to their kids and stay true to the mantra of "Never Forget." We hope that you experienced as meaningful a Yom HaShoah V'Givra at home. For the truly incredible part about today extended far beyond the tracks of Auschwitz; it rested inside the hearts and minds of those commemorating, and the heart and mind of the Jewish nation as one.