March of the Living in Auschwitz postponed amid coronavirus fears

The March of the Living, which every year brings thousands of young Jews from many countries and their Polish peers to the site of the former Nazi German concentration camp of Auschwitz in southern Poland, has been postponed amid fears of the coronavirus.

Entrance to the former Auschwitz death camp with the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work sets you free) sign. Photo: CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)

via Wikimedia Commons

The event was to have taken place on April 21. A rescheduled date has not been announced.

A statement from March of the Living World Chair, Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, said: “After consulting with the relevant health bodies and officials, it is with a heavy heart that we are forced to announce the postponement of this year’s March of the Living in Poland. Our primary concern is the health of the many participants and the Holocaust survivors who would be joining them.

“Given that this is an international event involving 110 delegations from around the world, we have a responsibility to take precautionary measures in accordance with the guidelines given by authorities in various countries.”

Launched in 1988, the March of the Living is as an educational project coinciding with Holocaust Memorial Day. Participants take a three-kilometre route from Auschwitz's infamous Arbeit macht frei gate to the crematoria of Birkenau.

Prominent politicians who have taken part in the March of the Living include Polish and Israeli presidents and prime ministers.

Sixteen cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Poland so far.

(mk/gs)