Three kilometers between Auschwitz and Birkenau. The path once traversed by the doomed, and today – by those who came to preserve the memory of them. On Yom HaShoah — Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day — eight thousand people from around the world gathered in Poland to participate in the annual “March of the Living” and follow the traces of one of the darkest chapters in human history.

This year, the delegation of the World Zionist Organization was particularly significant. Among the two hundred participants were Holocaust survivors, hostages freed from Hamas captivity, families of those killed on October 7th, soldiers wounded in battles with terrorists. The delegation was led by Yaakov Hagoel, Chairman of the WZO.

The march began at the gates of the former Auschwitz concentration camp with the inscription “Arbeit macht frei” — “Work sets you free,” and ended at the Memorial to the victims of the camp — between the ruins of the largest gas chambers and crematoria. Leading the procession were the Presidents of Israel and Poland — Isaac Herzog and Andrzej Duda.

The WZO delegation began its memorial route in Warsaw, honoring the memory of the heroes of the 1943 ghetto uprising. Next was Lublin and the former Majdanek concentration camp. Here, despite the Nazis’ attempts to destroy evidence of their crimes, testimonies of mass murders remain: gas chambers, crematoria, ashes and bones, thousands of pairs of shoes.

Then came Krakow. Before the war, about 80,000 Jews lived in the city, making up about a quarter of its population. The Nazis created a ghetto where thousands faced hunger, terror, and deportations to death camps. The Ghetto Heroes Square with the “Empty Chairs” memorial and remnants of the ghetto wall preserve the memory of the tragedy.

The final point was Auschwitz. Here, the Nazis killed 1.1 million people, including about a million Jews from all over Europe, as well as Roma, Poles, Russians. On January 27, 1945, the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army. Soldiers of the 106th Rifle Corps under the command of Major Anatoly Shapiro demined the approaches and opened the gates of Auschwitz I, inscribing their feat in history.

“To read about it in a book or see it in a film is one thing. But to stand in front of the barbed wire, barracks, and gas chambers is completely different,” shared one of the march participants.

In recent years, voices are increasingly heard: “Enough with your Holocaust obsession,” “Stop playing the eternal victims.” But on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,182 people, and a wave of antisemitism swept through streets, campuses, and even UN podiums, it became clear: memory is not about pity. It’s about strength.

For me, these three kilometers were not just a march, but a vow — to remember, to be strong, and to defend the right to life. And a promise: to help every Jew return to Israel — our only home. There, where we are free.