The Goals of March of the Living

• To remember those who perished, to be a witness, thus denying Hitler a “posthumous victory”. The role of the survivor is a key element in this goal.
  
  
• To never again allow for the unchecked rise of the menace of anti-Semitism.
  
  
• To never again allow any kind of racial discrimination directed by any individual or group in society against another to gain strength. Though Jews have been primarily the victims of racism, this goal also relates to racism expressed by Jews towards others. Included in this goal is the teaching that all human beings are created “btselem elohim” (in the image of God), and the diminution of the dignity of any member of the human family is a cardinal violation of Jewish ethical teachings.
  
  
• To bolster the Jewish identity of the next generation of Jewish youth by acquainting them with the rich Jewish heritage that existed in Eastern Europe, and is now lost. As in point # 1, the survivor is a key element in this goal. Included in this goal is a commitment to living our Jewish lives today in a way that reflects the diverse values and traditions of pre-war European Jewry.
  
  
• To understand the importance of the existence of Israel:
  • as the spiritual centre and homeland of the Jewish people.
  • to learn the lesson that Jews never again allow themselves to be defenseless.
  • to develop a love for the people of Israel and an appreciation of the hardships and sacrifice endured by her citizens on behalf of Israel.
  Related to this goal, is understanding the concept of “Meshoah Le’tkumah” (from destruction to rebirth). Despite the devastation of the Holocaust, the Jewish people did not yield to despair, or give up their belief in building a better tomorrow. Rather they rose up — against all odds — and established the state of Israel, the hope and future of the Jewish people.
  
  
• The final goal is no so much to learn from or about history, but to enter into history. By visiting Eastern Europe, young Jewish students are taking part in a commemorative act, which tells themselves, their people, and the entire world — and perhaps even those who have perished — that the death of six million of our people has been marked and will never be forgotten by the Jewish people.