Thousands of Virtual Holocaust Memorial Plaques Projected onto Birkenau Gates 

For the first time, 2020 March of the Living was postponed due to COVID-19 but Holocaust Remembrance continues.

More than 10,000 plaques uploaded to March of the Living online platform, including from President Rivlin, Mayim Bialik, UK stars Rachel Riley & Matt Lucas, Natan Sharansky, Amb. Ron Dermer, Amb. David Friedman, Isaac Herzog, Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Pastor John Hagee. March of the Living World Chair, Dr. Shmuel Rosenman: “We simply could not leave Auschwitz-Birkenau abandoned.”

20 April 2020 (Tel Aviv) – Although the 2020 March of the Living will not take place on Holocaust Memorial Day due to the Coronavirus world pandemic, around 10,000 people have participated in the organization’s virtual memorial plaque project during the last week. The plaques were projected on the entrance gate to the Birkenau death camp this evening as Holocaust Remembrance Day began across the Jewish world.

The virtual project launched last week, under the slogan “NeverMeansNever”, gives individuals around the world the opportunity to simulate one of the most meaningful personal moments of The March by composing a personal message and placing it on a virtual plaque along the train tracks in Birkenau. The project continues the tradition of remembering and paying tribute to the victims, honoring the survivors and committing to the global fight against antisemitism, hatred and intolerance.

So far, more than 10,000 people (the number which was scheduled to participate in March of the Living 2020) from 60 different countries have laid personal plaques via a dedicated mini-site https://nevermeansnever.motl.org/ 

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin was the first to lay a virtual plaque. He has been joined by a wide range of international figures. They include the heads of Israel’s security services, human rights icon and Genesis Prize winner Natan Sharansky, Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, US-based Pastor John Hagee, actress Mayim Bialik, UK TV stars Rachel Riley and Matt Lucas, Israeli singers Shlomo Artzi and Ivri Lider and Israeli soccer star Eran Zahavi.

In addition to screening the virtual plaques on the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” gates at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the plaques will also be projected onto the wall of Israel’s National Theater – Habima this evening (Monday). Actors and actresses from the theater will stand for a minute’s silence during a memorial ceremony at Habima.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday a virtual March of the Living ceremony will take place at 5:00 pm MDT and can be viewed live at https://www.motl.org/live/. The ceremony will feature President of Israel Reuven Rivlin, testimonies from Holocaust survivors Edward Mosberg and Irving Roth, addresses from Jewish leaders, Holocaust educators, March of the Living alumni and more.

“This is the first time in 32 years that the March of the Living has not taken place on Holocaust Memorial Day, but we must never let the flame of memory be extinguished,” said March of the Living World Chair, Dr. Shmuel Rosenman. He continued, “We moved our activities to the virtual space and in this way, we have ensured that Auschwitz-Birkenau is not abandoned on this important day. Thousands of virtual plaques have been uploaded during the past week and many will be screened at Birkenau, sending a strong and clear message – Never Again.”

“This is a Holocaust Memorial Day unlike any other. Yet, its message is more relevant than ever. Remembering and educating about the unparalleled tragedy that is the Holocaust is absolutely vital if we are to eradicate antisemitism, racism and intolerance,” commented March of the Living President, Phyllis Greenberg Heideman. She continued, “I am delighted that The ‘NeverMeansNever’ campaign has given so many people across the world the opportunity to not only honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust but to express their determination to build a better future.”

“Our mission and our commitment to those who perished and to the survivors, is to remember, to tell their story and to educate about everything that happened,” said Deputy Chair, International March of the Living, Aharon Tamir. He continued, “While we cannot be there physically, where such tragedy took place, we are there entirely in both mind and spirit. The fact that the number of people who have uploaded virtual plaques is similar to those who would have been marching, is a source of real gratitude and excitement.”March of the Living is the largest annual international experiential Holocaust education program in the world and has taken place in Poland without interruption since its inception in 1988. Each year thousands of participants from 150 communities around the globe participate in The March, including survivors, students, adults, liberators and educators from the United States, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Hungary, France, Australia and Poland. To date, more than 260,000 March of the Living participants have walked the 3.2 kilometers from Auschwitz to Birkenau in tribute to the greatest loss in the history of the Jewish people and all humanity.