On 2 May a group of Lithuanian Teachers from Tolerance Education Centers, accompanied by Ingrida Vilkienė, a coordinator of educational programs participated in the International March of the Living event.
The March of the Living is an event dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust victims. The March of the Living takes place in the former concentration camp, opened by Nazi in Auschwitz, and in various European countries where Jews were killed during World War II. This year, Lithuanian teachers working in schools with Tolerance Education Centers went to the March of the Living, held in Poland. The participating teachers were from Alytus, Ariogala, Dieveniškės, Kaunas, Kėdainiai, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Varėna and Vilnius.
This year, the event took place on 2 May, when Jewish communities commemorate Yom Hashoah – a Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day. Lithuanian teachers, together with other 10,000 people from different countries, went in a column from the Auschwitz concentration camp to the Birkenau extermination site. By their involvement the teachers spoke against anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia. The participants of the event wrote their thoughts on wooden boards about memory, about a solidarity fight against anti-Semitism and why they were that day at the event.
Lithuanian teachers were invited to participate in the international event by the Secretariat of the International Commission in cooperation with the European March of the Living network organization (EMOTL). This organization unites 17 organizations in 14 European countries.
The article about the March of the Living was published in Bernardinai (the original version in Lithuanian). The informal translation of the article to English is here.
