The March of the Living 2016 — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

As in previous years, this year the March of the Living departed from the train station at Ponary to the compound of the death pits. The idea, which was first conceived and implemented in 2009 by the Association of Vilna Jews in Israel, has become an annual tradition. The former president of Lithuania, Andrius Kubilius, the Lithuanian ambassador to Israel Asta Skaisgiryte Levushkina and the late Hen Ivri, former Israeli ambassador to Lithuania and Latvia gave the project their blessing; since then Lithuania commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day annually at this time of the year.

The association's delegation is received at the Lithuanian parliament and holds a formal, official ceremony at the foot of the memorial monument. The Lithuanian Jewish community hosts us and hundreds of local residents and school pupils, leaders and members of the community, representatives of the government and ambassadors from many countries participate in the March. All present sanctify Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day and commemorate the memory of the former residents of Vilna, in particular, and the former residents of Lithuania, in general, who perished.  The Association is proud of this uniquely successful project and we invite all of you, for whom the heritage of the Jewish nation is dear to your hearts, to join the next March!

A speech by Efrat Pinhas: I am the third generation of Holocaust survivors, the granddaughter of the late Ida and Hanoch Vilenchik who were Holocaust survivors and, thanks to them, I am here.

My grandparents never spoke of the horrors that they suffered in the Vilna Ghetto, so when my mother, Hanna, asked me to join the roots trip to Vilna I was very excited.

The trip took place in September, 2016. The group was amazing; most of them were second-generation survivors but there were also four incredible heroes whom I will find hard to forget: Devorah Rozenzweig, Dr. Aharon Einat, Avraham Kamerman and Shimon Fein.

My grandparents, who were born in Vilna, lost all of their families in the Holocaust.  As a child I never heard the story of how they were rescued. I know that my grandmother was in the ghetto and my grandfather was a partisan but they didn't speak of what happened; that is why this trip is so important for me. The fact that my mother was with me, partnering my experiences, heightened the emotional impact,   yet made it more enjoyable.

We visited the cemeteries, where the Jews who were murdered are buried, and the grave of the Vilna Ga'on. They are peaceful places that give no hint of the terrible things that happened there. It is hard to credit that so many children, men and women lost their lives there. I was very excited to accompany my mother to the house where she grew up, to learn about the place where she spent her childhood.

Throughout the trip, the survivors who accompanied us told stories of how people were rescued; Devorah, for example, was rescued from the inferno thanks to her mother's resourcefulness and strength. Another story shows that fact is stranger than fiction: the story of two little boys, Aharon and Avraham, who were saved from the Nazis several times by hiding in an attic with other children; Irit told us how her father escaped from the Ninth Fort at Kovno where they burned the Jews' bodies.

The highlight of the trip was at Ponary on the 23^rd of September where a ceremony was held to commemorate 73 years since the liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto. I stood, facing the monument commemorating those who perished, proudly bearing the Israeli flag, during the emotional ceremony. At the end of the ceremony I was one of those who lit memorial candles in memory of those who perished.

Had I not gone on this trip I would never have heard all those stories, would never have seen all the places where innocent Jews were exterminated and I would not have known about the history of the Vilna community. There lies the importance of the trip – to remember what happened and to transmit it to the future generations.

First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother for having given me this opportunity; special thanks to Mickey Kantor, and to my fantastic co-travelers for making this amazing experience possible.