Latest news with #InternationalMarchoftheLiving
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Oct. 7, Holocaust survivors march in Auschwitz 80 years after death camp's liberation
Survivors of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel marched shoulder to shoulder with Holocaust survivors Thursday at the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Poland, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation. Some 8,000 people — including free Hamas hostages Agam Berger, Ori Megidish and Eli Sharabi — marched roughly two miles to the infamous German extermination camp in Birkenau to pay tribute to the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust. 'We've really become a community, all of the survivors,' said Natalie Sanandaji, of Long Island, who survived the Nova music festival attack in 2023. Advertisement 7 Thousands gathered at the International March of the Living to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation at Auschwitz. REUTERS 7 Freed Hamas hostage Eli Sharabi attended the ceremony draped in an Israeli flagged with President Isaac Herzog, left. AFP via Getty Images 'I've been able to meet so many other survivors and it's been a huge part of my healing process being able to spend time with other people who understand what I went through,' she added. The International March of the Living was also attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Polish President Andrzej Duda. Advertisement 'In days when antisemitism is raising its ugly head, when there is hatred towards Israel and when cries rise for the destruction of Israel, we must stand strong and remind and promise the world: never again,' Herzog proclaimed. 7 Soldiers march while holding the Torah at the former death camp where an estimated 1.1 million Jews were killed. REUTERS 7 Former Hamas hostages Ori Magdish, left, and Agam Berger, also joined the march on Thursday. Getty Images Advertisement New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was also in attendance with his wife, Tammy, who had relatives who stayed behind in Poland during the pogroms and the rise of the Nazi regime. Murphy said it was important to be at the march to show his support for Edan Alexander, of Tenafly, who is the last-living American hostage that remains in Hamas captivity. 'We pray for him and his family,' Murphy said. 'Please, God, [we hope] he's released soon,' Murphy said. 7 Berger performed at the ceremony using a violin recovered from the death camp. Getty Images Advertisement 7 Holocaust survivors and thousands of others walked through the infamous 'Arbeit macht frei' (Work sets you free) gate. REUTERS Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said it was his first time in Auschwitz since the war in Gaza began, which he said has sparked a rise in antisemitism across the globe. 'We always say, 'Never again,' and we cannot compare the Holocaust to anything else, but what we have seen in Israel on October 7, we realize we still have to face evil,' Danon said. 'I still have hope. I think the majority of the world don't know the facts, they are ignorant and we have to educate them,' he added about the spike in antisemitism. 7 Memory boards were placed outside the death camp to honor the victims. REUTERS Duda, who stood alongside Herzog, said that along with paying tribute to those who lost their lives during the Holocaust, those marching are also calling for an end to antisemitism and freedom of the 59 hostages still under Hamas captivity. 'We both expressed our hope that the war taking place in the Gaza Strip, which was started by Hamas' attack on Israel, will be able to end, that the hostages who are still in Hamas hands will be able to return home,' Duda said. Advertisement Of the estimated six million Jews systematically killed during the Holocaust — as well as millions of others from minority groups across German-occupied Europe — about 1.1 million people died inside the Auschwitz death camp. With Post wires
Associated Press
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
80 Years On, Mauthausen Survivor Unites with Eisenhower Family in Powerful Tribute to Liberation & Holocaust Remembrance
Eva Clarke, liberated as an infant by American army, met Eisenhower's great-grandson at event held by the International March of the Living & Eisenhower family WASHINGTON , DC, UNITED STATES, February 26, 2025 / / -- In an emotional tribute to liberation and Holocaust remembrance, Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke today met President Dwight D. Eisenhower's great-grandson for the first time, at a March of the Living Washington event to personally thank him for the role that the Americans troops had in liberating her and other survivors. The event marked the new collaboration between the International March of the Living Holocaust education organization and the Eisenhower family. This landmark partnership will see Merrill Eisenhower joining the 2025 March of the Living on Holocaust Remembrance Day from Auschwitz to Birkenau death camps, walking alongside Holocaust survivors and thousands of participants from around the world to honor the memory of the victims and the heroism of the liberators and the survivors. The collaboration underscores the continued commitment of the Eisenhower family and March of the Living to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are preserved for future generations. Monday's event was attended by prominent figures from both the Jewish community and beyond, including Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, who addressed the event. Eva Clarke, who was born in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria in 1945, one week before the camp's official liberation by U.S. Army forces under General Eisenhower, said upon meeting Eisenhower: 'I am the infant your great grandfather and the American soldiers saved. Had he and his soldiers not arrived in time, I would not be standing here today. General Eisenhower wasn't just a military man, but a visionary leader. He saw the dangers of Holocaust denial the moment he witnessed the atrocities committed by the Nazis. He fought against this – and you, Merrill, by participating in the March of the Living, continue his legacy and fight against it today. It is a great honor for me to march together with you on the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day.' Merrill Eisenhower responded, saying, 'There is no greater privilege than continuing the legacy of my great-grandfather, who not only led the liberation of thousands of Jews from a cruel fate but also ensured the world bore witness to the horrors of the Holocaust by ordering everything to be documented. To march in the March of the Living alongside survivors, whose lives were saved thanks to him, is a solemn duty. We must keep telling their stories, stand against Holocaust denial, and fight antisemitism and intolerable in all of its manifestation wherever it appears. I thank the March of the Living organizers for the honor of marching in his footsteps and continuing his his legacy.' This year's March of the Living, set to take place on Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 24, 2025, will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the death camps in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Thousands of participants from around the world will honor Holocaust survivors and the Allied forces, led by General Eisenhower, who ended Nazi tyranny and brought freedom to millions. As Clarke and Eisenhower Walk side by side at Auschwitz, their presence will reaffirm a shared commitment: to remember, to educate, and to stand against antisemitism and Holocaust denial, ensuring that history's darkest chapter is never repeated. Phyllis Greenberg Heideman, President of the March of the Living, told the participants: 'The March of the Living stands as a living testimony to the triumph of memory over forgetfulness. The march of Eva and Merrill, alongside other survivors, is a powerful reminder of why we must continue this fight against denial and distortion. The fact that the great-grandson of the Supreme Commander who liberated Europe will march with us in the 80th year of the liberation is not just symbolic—it continues the legacy of a leader who never forgot what he saw in the Nazi death camps.' Prominent philanthropists Josh and Marjorie Harris, who co-hosted the event, said: 'We are deeply proud to stand with the March of the Living and the Eisenhower family in this vital mission of remembrance and education. General Eisenhower understood the impact of bearing witness, and that remembering the past is the key to safeguarding the future. At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, that responsibility is more urgent than ever. It is a privilege to lend our voices to this cause, to honor the survivors and liberators, and to ensure that their stories continue to be heard for generations to come.' Eva Clarke's Story: A Testament to Survival Born on April 29, 1945, at the gates of Mauthausen concentration camp, Eva Clarke's survival was a miracle. Her mother, Anka Kauderova, endured unimaginable hardships: deported from the Theresienstadt ghetto to Auschwitz while pregnant, she lost her husband, Bernd, to the gas chambers. Transferred to a forced labor camp and then Mauthausen, Anka gave birth while weighing just 32 kilograms, with Eva born at only 1.3 kilograms. Had Eva been born just a day earlier, both mother and child would have been sent to the gas chambers—but the gas had run out. American forces arrived days later, providing life-saving care to the mother and newborn. Today, Eva is one of only three babies known to have survived being born in Mauthausen. Her story is chronicled in the book Born Survivors, and she continues to share her experiences to ensure the world never forgets. N10S +972546921720 ext.
