10 NOVEMBER 2016
Supplement
Scott Saunders wants young Jewish people to join him on a life-changing trip to learn about their history and identity and carry this important connection into the future. He is very clear about why... Three kilometers. That’s all it is from Auschwitz to Birkenau, but it’s a stretch of road marked by railway tracks that Scott Saunders knows very well as he has walked the path countless times. By his own admission, he is an unlikely frequent visitor. A comfortable childhood in north-west London, an education at UCS school and more importantly without any familial ties to the Holocaust, just a very basic understanding of a horrific subject. “Enough to get by” is how Scott once would have described it, but that all changed when he got an invitation. Married and working as a successful international banker in Tokyo in 1992, invitations were plentiful, but it was one asking him to attend a memorial service honouring Japanese wartime hero Chiune Sugihara that opened Scott’s eyes to the realities of the Shoah and the story of a
courageous diplomat who got visas for thousands of Jews that made him want to know more. Lots more and he was soon reading everything he could about the Holocaust and growing more interested in his Judaism. He even became chairman of a synagogue when he moved to Hong Kong three years later, and in that role hosted an exhibition for Sydney’s Jewish Museum, where he met people who had survived the camps he had only ever seen as muted images in books. In 2005, Scott took 10 adults from Hong Kong to Poland to join the March of the Living. This is an annual event that brings thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish people from around the world to mark Yom Hashoah by remembering those who took their last steps on the desolate track between Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Scott’s recollections of his first March of the Living experience are visceral. The things he saw and the people he met, many of whom were survivors, made such an impact on him that he spread the word in Hong Kong and brought many other visitors in subsequent years. When the world financial market crashed in 2009, Scott decided it was time for a change. But this was no short-lived epiphany, and he came back to the UK to make his mark. “I was amazed when I had gone on March of the Living that there had only ever been a peripheral UK Jewish presence,” says Scott, who also gained a Masters in modern Jewish history. “I wanted to change that and while there have always been tours of remembrance to Poland, I wanted to offer the gold standard of trips in Holocaust education.” Continued on page 2
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Jewish News 10 November 2016
www.jewishnews.co.uk
March of the Living A 20 year absence from the UK’s Jewish community proved an advantage for Scott (“in some ways”) as he was oblivious to political and religious divides. So rather than pander to them, he ignored them and set out his plan to launch March of the Living as a crosscommunal, non-religious experience that encourages connecting to one’s Jewish identity and being part of the community as a whole going forward. With only a small number of survivors living in Britain, Scott understood how important it was to get them involved in March of the Living, both as educators and participants, and he succeeded. “We have the very best teachers,” he notes. “I also realise there will be a time when there are no survivors and it is crucial that March of the Living continues so that young people can learn the facts. “I also believe that every participant learns the history and, as such, becomes better equipped to fight hatred, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, all which are increasing.” In 2010, Scott (pictured, right, with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis) set off to Poland with his first March of the Living UK participants. There were just a handful of people, but it was the start of something he had dreamt about. Remarkably, since then, Scott has convinced youth group leaders to come together
as a community for seven days and join him and other young adults on buses filled with highly-trained educators who, between Warsaw and Krakow, teach them about their history and why, in a way, all Jews are survivors. That Scott has achieved all this single-handedly and runs the show from a laptop on his dining room table are just details, as far as he is concerned. He has more important things to talk about, such as the fact that the donations he pushes for allow students to come on board without prohibitive costs. When necessary, Scott funds shortfalls for the trips from his own pocket, but then, he has always done whatever is necessary to help March of the Living UK to grow. “I started with 10 and this year will take 300,” he says proudly. “When people raise objections about going, I remind them of the words of Rabbi Israel Lau: ‘As Jews, we knew how to die together, but we still haven’t learnt how to live together.’ The value of life is one of the most important things this journey teaches you as well as the necessity to say never again, not just as or to Jews, but for all humanity.” And that’s what Scott wants participants to think about and remember, on the walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau next April before lighting a candle.
EVE KUGLAR Survivor
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A SPIRIT OF CAMARADERIE DEVELOPS BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO WERE STRANGERS WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN WARSAW
o go on the March of the Living or not to go. Some hesitate, saying they are nervous, not ready or afraid of what they will see. I have gone on the March five times. I am a Holocaust survivor. Why do I keep going? I go because in spite of the distress of actually walking through the camp barracks, the gas chambers and the crematoriums, the March is also an uplifting experience. A spirit of camaraderie develops between people who were strangers when they arrived in Warsaw. I have learned from the participants that they take comfort and feel a sense of pride in Jewish resistance, for example walking along Warsaw’s heroism trail and stopping at Mila 18 and, more importantly, resistance by inmates of the camps. I go because it helps Marchers to talk to someone who has actually lived through the Holocaust. And, in return, the marchers look after me with love and concern when I share my own history. I go because the March of the Living experience where we witness what was the Holocaust
strengthens the sense of Jewish history and community and the importance of our continued existence, not only for the participants but for me each time I am in Poland. Then there is the day of the March itself. The air is filled with excitement. We exchange greetings with people in the crowd of more than 10,000 people from all over Europe, the Americas, from as far away as Japan and, of course, Israel, all united to take part in the long walk across the vast camp to Birkenau for the commemorative service. Miraculously, after days of shivering in wintry Polish weather, the sun comes out and the thermometer mysteriously shoots up. Only once in the five years did it rain, and then the downpour was sporadic. The Holocaust is part of our Jewish history. Taking part in the March, it becomes a living history. I am truly fortunate that not only I but my mother survived the Holocaust. Over and over, she insisted: ‘You must tell our story; everyone has to know what happened.’ Spending the five days of the March of the Living with its generous participants is a way of fulfilling her wish.
10 November 2016 Jewish News
www.jewishnews.co.uk
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March of the Living RICHARD VERBER
March of the Living UK volunteer, World Jewish Relief’s head of external affairs and senior vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews
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OUR OUTSTANDING EDUCATORS DON’T TELL US WHAT TO THINK
his year has been an uncomfortable one for many British Jews. Anti-Semitism in politics has dominated the news headlines for months. Some of us might think that’s a good thing: perhaps sunlight is the best disinfectant. Others feel distinctly uncomfortable travelling to work on the train with anti-Semitism on the front page of the newspapers. Whether you think the people airing these abhorrent views are hardcore anti-Semites or mere misguided fools, the antidote to the poison is the same: education. Jews have always known that the key to success is educating the next generation. The transmission of Jewish identity from the past to the present is the only guarantee of a Jewish identity of the future. The Hebrew word for education is chinuch. Chinuch doesn’t mean learning dry facts by rote.
Linguistically, the word comes from the same root as Chanukah and means initiation or inauguration. Just as the festival of Chanukah celebrates the inauguration of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Greeks vandalised it and tried to ban Jewish education so, too, chinuch means to inculcate Jewish values in our children to take on the mantle of this rich, vast tradition of ours and pass it on to their children. Holocaust education is one component of that. Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers) teaches that you have to know where you came from in order to know where you’re going. History can guide us today. I felt a certain irony standing in Auschwitz earlier this year just after the anti-Semitism row began back home. Clearly recent events are nowhere near the state-sponsored antiSemitism that allowed the Holocaust to happen. But Auschwitz still serves as a chilling reminder – perhaps the ultimate memorial – of what unadulterated hatred and ignorance can lead to. It was my sixth visit to Poland with March of the Living UK since it was founded in 2010. For a number of years, I was a bus leader, looking after the Jewish students and youth movements
participating. I’ve helped with the logistics. I’m now training to be an educator. It’s a daunting responsibility. March of the Living UK was set up to be the gold standard in Holocaust education. It has no religious or political agenda: whoever you are, whatever you believe, you’ll find a warm welcome with us. All we hope is that the experience of travelling across Poland helps participants take another step on their Jewish journey. A total of 1,300 people have already had that opportunity: we’d love you to join the UK delegation in 2017. March of the Living UK also offers an insight into the extraordinary resurgence of Jewish life today, particularly in Krakow’s beautiful Jewish Community Centre, built by World Jewish Relief and opened by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in 2008. Our outstanding educators don’t tell you what to think or believe, because that’s not chinuch either. What matters is that participants go back with a deeper understanding of how the Holocaust happened so that it can never happen again. Education is the answer to the bigots.
JUDE WILLIAMS
Educator on MOTL UK, and CEO of Tzedek the rest of the year
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ne of our primary concerns as educators teaching the Holocaust is how to present horrific and tragic events in a sensitive and appropriate manner. At the heart, the learning on March of Living is an understanding that the tragedy of the Holocaust is the loss of Jewish life. To really understand that loss, we need to uncover the life of Polish Jewry that was vibrant, rich, often fragile, and lasted some 1,000 years in Poland. To dwell on the destruction of European Jewry during 15 years of Nazism is to belittle the memory of those that perished. This means that we, as educators need to be historians of Polish history and the Holocaust. And coupled with that, skilful group facilitators and tour guides. And while we each deliver a programme alone, key to our ability to deliver this outstanding March of the Living experience is our work as a faculty, learning together and from one another. Over this coming year, we are learning with
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TO DWELL ON THE DESTRUCTION OF EUROPEAN JEWRY DURING 15 YEARS OF NAZISM IS TO BELITTLE THE MEMORY OF THOSE THAT PERISHED some of the UK’s top academics – professor Antony Polonsky, Dr Francois Guesnet and Dr Shirli Gilbert – to ensure the history we present is based on the latest historiographic understanding. We are going to Poland as a faculty to learn in the newly-built Polin museum in Warsaw. We will be visiting sites
and sharing best pedagogy and then sitting up till late to debate the common themes and issues that teaching in Poland raises. One of the new areas for us to explore is the contemporary Polish-Jewish relations that are both intriguing and enlightening. Furthermore, it’s also about training new educators. We have nine new educators joining us to create a larger pool. This of course not only benefits the wonderful work that March of the Living UK sets out to achieve, but actually benefits the entire Jewish community. For us educators, this is an enriching programme of learning. It’s also essential. We want to make sure that the experience we build for participants covers historical material and highlights complicated human behaviour, while ensuring the experience enriches the Jewish identities of every participant. And maybe most importantly, it honours and ensures we do not forget the lives lost during the dark episode of the Holocaust.
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Jewish News 10 November 2016
www.jewishnews.co.uk
March of the Living
All photography by Sam Churchill
March of the Living 2017 19th – 25th April
An experience you’ll never forget (Which is the whole idea)
Join us for a life changing journey. March of the Living 2017. On 19 – 25th April 2017, thousands of Jewish people will march three kilometers from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built by the Nazis during World War II. The March commemorates Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. You can be there – along with over 10,000 participants from more than 40 countries. Prior to the March, you will travel as part of a small group, visiting the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Majdanek, as well as historic Jewish sites in Poland. Like previous Marchers, you will find that the trip has a profound impact, giving you a new sense of self. It will be an experience that will remain with you for a lifetime.
March of the Living 19 – 25th April 2017 To read more about this unique experience visit: www.marchoftheliving.co.uk
info@marchoftheliving.org.uk www.marchoftheliving.org.uk facebook.com/MarchoftheLivingUK twitter.com/UKMOTL flickr.com/photos/motluk
March of the Living UK Registered Charity No: 1138604