Untitled Document


		Hi- My name is Hannah Gildar and I was a participant on March of the Living 2008. Before I went on this trip I was the typical American Jewish teen, kept a very loose version of kosher, rarely went to synagogue, and wasn't exactly sure of my belief in G-d. One of my friends had told me about this trip because her sister had gone the year before and she convinced me to sign up. I was skeptical at first, but was happy my parents would let me miss two weeks of school. My Grandfather is a Holocaust survivor and his whole family was killed in Auschwitz , so my parents thought it would be a good experience for me. We began classes during which we learned about the Holocaust and got to know the other kids going on the trip. Mostly I went just so I could hang out with my friends because I felt that having gone to a Jewish day school all my life, I already knew all there was to know about the Holocaust. The day of the trip finally arrived; we gathered in the atrium of the ever busy Atlanta airport. I was so excited to go on this trip and be out of the country. Mostly, I was excited for Israel because I wasn't sure yet what my experiences in Germany and Poland would be like. After a four hour delay and a ten hour flight, we finally made it to Berlin , Germany . My first thoughts were to hate the place. These were the people that had murdered almost my entire family. I couldn't understand our tour bus guide's thick German accent and was too exhausted from our long flight to pay much attention. We drove by the remnants of the Berlin Wall and made our way to the Holocaust Memorial. The memorial was an expanse of huge chunks of stone to represent all the people killed in the Holocaust. We ate lunch nearby, but the whole time I couldn't wait to get out of Germany where I felt just my presence was like supporting the Nazis. We loaded up the bus and headed for Poland which was said to be a mere five hour drive - yet turned into something closer to ten. After our first night in Poland , we woke up to drive to a small town called Tikocyn in the countryside close to Warsaw . Once we arrived, we walked into the town's synagogue. It was not extravagantly big, but it had gorgeous paintings on the walls of the prayers which we were told had to be painted because there were not enough Siddurs (prayer books). We were with groups from all over the U.S. , along with other teens from countries around the world. We began to sing and dance and bring life back to the town. From the synagogue, we walked through town to the Jewish cemetery which had been long since neglected and recaptured by nature. We cleaned off head stones and found gorgeous Hebrew writing telling of the lives of the Jews formerly living there. We then made our way into the forests on the outskirts of town, not exactly sure where we were going. The guides lead us to three fenced-in patches of field. We were told of the horrible atrocities that took place here. The Einstatsgrupen had come in and forced the 1,400 Jews of Tikocyn to march into these same woods, made them line up in front of these three pits, and began shooting the Jews. We were told the story about a mother who attempted to run away with her baby but was caught. The Nazi gunmen then took her baby and threw him against a tree, killing him instantly, in order to set an example for the rest. As many began to cry, we made our way out of the woods to the road, where we held an optional prayer service for the Jews of Tikocyn. As I made my way onto the bus to get my Siddur, I noticed one of my friends sitting in the back, not coming to participate in the service. When I asked him why he wasn't coming, he responded that after seeing such an atrocity and such horrible acts of evil, how could he go ahead and praise G-d. This was when I truly began to understand the effects of the Holocaust. After leaving Tikocyn we made our way to Treblinka. At the beginning of this trip, all of the participants in the Southern Region group received a booklet with information about the places we were going, prayers, and information to help us on our trip, along with a journal in the back. Either while we were at the camps or after we left on the bus, we were given time to record our thoughts in this journal. While we were in Treblinka we were given time to sit alone in the surroundings of this camp and write down our thoughts and this is what I had to say: Surrounded by 17,000 stones, each representing a community destroyed here. 870,000 Jews killed here. All I can feel is disgust, anger, sadness all rushing over me at once. How can anyone have this much hate for another person, to torture and kill so many innocent people? Families, communities all left in shambles, mangled by these horrible people. I feel pain and sorrow for the innocent victims killed here; not killed, tortured and murdered. It seems almost ironic that we sit here in the green grass, flowers blooming, birds chirping when in this same place 66 years ago was a death camp filled with Jews just like us living here, being tortured, watching friends and family be killed, starved, beaten and be able to do nothing about it. This place was filled with hopelessness, pain, sadness, and anger and today we sit here free. At least we know these people's lives weren't wasted. Thanks to them we are now free to be Jewish and live without fear. The only way I can go on and justify their deaths is to think they died for something and they died for a cause, our freedom to be Jewish and live a life they couldn't, live it for them. The main event of this trip is the actual March of the Living on Yom Hashoah from Auschwitz to Birkenau. The March was amazing. Our Region had the honor of being one of the groups to lead the March this year which was great. Seeing 14,000 Jewish people all gathered together from all corners of the earth to remember the Holocaust is absolutely impossible to describe. We are living proof that the Nazis didn't succeed. When I saw the train tracks leading into Birkenau, a lot of emotions fell over me. Millions of Jews, including most of my grandfather's family, were driven into that camp and murdered. While marching the path between the camps, looking around and seeing a sea of blue, everyone wearing a yellow sticker on their arms with a Jewish star saying “Never Forget”; I felt very empowered. We were walking as free people and by returning I felt we were making a statement, proving the Nazis didn't succeed and we will NEVER FORGET. As we were making our way out of the camp, Rabbi Lew along with the Rabbis from the other cities made the decision to hold a service in one of the women's barracks at the edge of the camp. They laid down an Israeli flag on one of the bunks, rolled out the Torah, and began reading the weekly verses. They had some of the survivors read along with them. This was the most beautiful service I have ever taken a part of. We were able to bring prayer and life to a place filled with suffering and death, and remember the victims of the Holocaust. We finished our service with singing… Our last stop in Poland was Majdanak. I had heard from previous Marchers that Majdanak was the worst camp they visited because, unlike most of the others, Majdanak was left completely untouched when the Nazis left it, while camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka were largely destroyed. Right when we arrived, as if on cue, the sky darkened and it started raining. We made our way under the huge memorial in the front of the camp. We slowly started walking into the camp, passing by the house where the Nazi in charge of the camp lived with his whole family, on looking the slaughter. As we got deeper and deeper, it began pouring rain, drenching us to the bone as we ran through the camp into the first barrack we could see. As the rain slowed, we made our way out of the shelter of the barrack and through the rest of the camp. Eventually, we made it to the crematoriums where many of us broke down. Everything was so intact - it was as if they had just left yesterday. The room was filled with candles lit for the victims. Thinking that was the worst of it, we made our way up a set of stairs outside that led to a circular dome shaped structure. As we got to the top and realized what this was, everyone was crying. This structure was holding tons of ashes of the Jews killed there. There was not a dry eye to be found. We all just consoled each other as we tried to take in this reality…. Finally, after leaving what seemed like the pit of hell, we were on our way to Israel . I remember as the pilot announced we were beginning our descent to land in Israel , everyone on the entire plane erupted with singing and chanting - Am Yisrael Chai!!! We couldn't have been happier to be there. After seeing such horrible things the Holocaust brought about, it made us all appreciate Israel that much more. Not only did we survive and prove that the Nazis didn't succeed, but we had our own country to prove just that. We visited the historical sites and traveled all over Israel , absorbing its beauty. We were there for Yom HaZikaron during which we participated in a service held for the fallen soldiers of Yokneam, our sister city. This day helped me realize we are still fighting to keep our homeland, and people are still dying to protect our homeland. We were lucky enough to be in Israel for Yom HaAtzmaut, which was probably one of the best days of my life. We participated in another March - this one through Jerusalem ending at the Kotel. Yom HaAtzmaut was one big celebration after another, and being able to experience it after being in Poland really made me appreciate Israel so much. As Americans, many of us don't realize how great we have it here being able to practice our religion freely. I know that before I went on this trip I totally took this for granted, and after seeing the things that happened to our brothers and sisters, there's no way I can take that for granted any more. I had always known about the Holocaust because my Grandfather was a survivor. I went to a Jewish day school and had learned a lot about the Holocaust, but there is nothing like being in those gas cambers in Auschwitz to make you truly understand the extent and how real it really is. Walking through the crematoria and barracks at these camps changes something inside of you. After seeing the atrocities of the Holocaust first hand, it would seem like a disgrace to go on taking my religion - and my freedom to practice it, for granted when millions of people died so that I can embrace my Judaism and not be persecuted for it. Being in Poland and visiting the camps sparked my Jewish flame and I know that I will never forget what happened there. - Hannah Gildar

Hi- My name is Hannah Gildar and I was a participant on March of the Living 2008. Before I went on this trip I was the typical American Jewish teen, kept a very loose version of kosher, rarely went to synagogue, and wasn't exactly sure of my belief in G-d.

One of my friends had told me about this trip because her sister had gone the year before and she convinced me to sign up. I was skeptical at first, but was happy my parents would let me miss two weeks of school. My Grandfather is a Holocaust survivor and his whole family was killed in Auschwitz , so my parents thought it would be a good experience for me.

We began classes during which we learned about the Holocaust and got to know the other kids going on the trip. Mostly I went just so I could hang out with my friends because I felt that having gone to a Jewish day school all my life, I already knew all there was to know about the Holocaust.

The day of the trip finally arrived; we gathered in the atrium of the ever busy Atlanta airport. I was so excited to go on this trip and be out of the country. Mostly, I was excited for Israel because I wasn't sure yet what my experiences in Germany and Poland would be like. After a four hour delay and a ten hour flight, we finally made it to Berlin , Germany .

My first thoughts were to hate the place. These were the people that had murdered almost my entire family. I couldn't understand our tour bus guide's thick German accent and was too exhausted from our long flight to pay much attention. We drove by the remnants of the Berlin Wall and made our way to the Holocaust Memorial. The memorial was an expanse of huge chunks of stone to represent all the people killed in the Holocaust. We ate lunch nearby, but the whole time I couldn't wait to get out of Germany where I felt just my presence was like supporting the Nazis. We loaded up the bus and headed for Poland which was said to be a mere five hour drive - yet turned into something closer to ten.

After our first night in Poland , we woke up to drive to a small town called Tikocyn in the countryside close to Warsaw . Once we arrived, we walked into the town's synagogue. It was not extravagantly big, but it had gorgeous paintings on the walls of the prayers which we were told had to be painted because there were not enough Siddurs (prayer books). We were with groups from all over the U.S. , along with other teens from countries around the world. We began to sing and dance and bring life back to the town.

From the synagogue, we walked through town to the Jewish cemetery which had been long since neglected and recaptured by nature. We cleaned off head stones and found gorgeous Hebrew writing telling of the lives of the Jews formerly living there.

We then made our way into the forests on the outskirts of town, not exactly sure where we were going. The guides lead us to three fenced-in patches of field. We were told of the horrible atrocities that took place here. The Einstatsgrupen had come in and forced the 1,400 Jews of Tikocyn to march into these same woods, made them line up in front of these three pits, and began shooting the Jews. We were told the story about a mother who attempted to run away with her baby but was caught. The Nazi gunmen then took her baby and threw him against a tree, killing him instantly, in order to set an example for the rest. As many began to cry, we made our way out of the woods to the road, where we held an optional prayer service for the Jews of Tikocyn. As I made my way onto the bus to get my Siddur, I noticed one of my friends sitting in the back, not coming to participate in the service. When I asked him why he wasn't coming, he responded that after seeing such an atrocity and such horrible acts of evil, how could he go ahead and praise G-d. This was when I truly began to understand the effects of the Holocaust.

After leaving Tikocyn we made our way to Treblinka. At the beginning of this trip, all of the participants in the Southern Region group received a booklet with information about the places we were going, prayers, and information to help us on our trip, along with a journal in the back. Either while we were at the camps or after we left on the bus, we were given time to record our thoughts in this journal. While we were in Treblinka we were given time to sit alone in the surroundings of this camp and write down our thoughts and this is what I had to say:

Surrounded by 17,000 stones, each representing a community destroyed here. 870,000 Jews killed here. All I can feel is disgust, anger, sadness all rushing over me at once. How can anyone have this much hate for another person, to torture and kill so many innocent people? Families, communities all left in shambles, mangled by these horrible people. I feel pain and sorrow for the innocent victims killed here; not killed, tortured and murdered. It seems almost ironic that we sit here in the green grass, flowers blooming, birds chirping when in this same place 66 years ago was a death camp filled with Jews just like us living here, being tortured, watching friends and family be killed, starved, beaten and be able to do nothing about it. This place was filled with hopelessness, pain, sadness, and anger and today we sit here free. At least we know these people's lives weren't wasted. Thanks to them we are now free to be Jewish and live without fear. The only way I can go on and justify their deaths is to think they died for something and they died for a cause, our freedom to be Jewish and live a life they couldn't, live it for them.

The main event of this trip is the actual March of the Living on Yom Hashoah from Auschwitz to Birkenau. The March was amazing. Our Region had the honor of being one of the groups to lead the March this year which was great. Seeing 14,000 Jewish people all gathered together from all corners of the earth to remember the Holocaust is absolutely impossible to describe. We are living proof that the Nazis didn't succeed. When I saw the train tracks leading into Birkenau, a lot of emotions fell over me. Millions of Jews, including most of my grandfather's family, were driven into that camp and murdered. While marching the path between the camps, looking around and seeing a sea of blue, everyone wearing a yellow sticker on their arms with a Jewish star saying “Never Forget”; I felt very empowered. We were walking as free people and by returning I felt we were making a statement, proving the Nazis didn't succeed and we will NEVER FORGET.

As we were making our way out of the camp, Rabbi Lew along with the Rabbis from the other cities made the decision to hold a service in one of the women's barracks at the edge of the camp. They laid down an Israeli flag on one of the bunks, rolled out the Torah, and began reading the weekly verses. They had some of the survivors read along with them. This was the most beautiful service I have ever taken a part of. We were able to bring prayer and life to a place filled with suffering and death, and remember the victims of the Holocaust. We finished our service with singing…

Our last stop in Poland was Majdanak. I had heard from previous Marchers that Majdanak was the worst camp they visited because, unlike most of the others, Majdanak was left completely untouched when the Nazis left it, while camps such as Auschwitz and Treblinka were largely destroyed. Right when we arrived, as if on cue, the sky darkened and it started raining. We made our way under the huge memorial in the front of the camp. We slowly started walking into the camp, passing by the house where the Nazi in charge of the camp lived with his whole family, on looking the slaughter. As we got deeper and deeper, it began pouring rain, drenching us to the bone as we ran through the camp into the first barrack we could see. As the rain slowed, we made our way out of the shelter of the barrack and through the rest of the camp. Eventually, we made it to the crematoriums where many of us broke down. Everything was so intact - it was as if they had just left yesterday. The room was filled with candles lit for the victims.

Thinking that was the worst of it, we made our way up a set of stairs outside that led to a circular dome shaped structure. As we got to the top and realized what this was, everyone was crying. This structure was holding tons of ashes of the Jews killed there. There was not a dry eye to be found. We all just consoled each other as we tried to take in this reality….

Finally, after leaving what seemed like the pit of hell, we were on our way to Israel . I remember as the pilot announced we were beginning our descent to land in Israel , everyone on the entire plane erupted with singing and chanting - Am Yisrael Chai!!! We couldn't have been happier to be there.

After seeing such horrible things the Holocaust brought about, it made us all appreciate Israel that much more. Not only did we survive and prove that the Nazis didn't succeed, but we had our own country to prove just that. We visited the historical sites and traveled all over Israel , absorbing its beauty. We were there for Yom HaZikaron during which we participated in a service held for the fallen soldiers of Yokneam, our sister city. This day helped me realize we are still fighting to keep our homeland, and people are still dying to protect our homeland.

We were lucky enough to be in Israel for Yom HaAtzmaut, which was probably one of the best days of my life. We participated in another March - this one through Jerusalem ending at the Kotel. Yom HaAtzmaut was one big celebration after another, and being able to experience it after being in Poland really made me appreciate Israel so much.

As Americans, many of us don't realize how great we have it here being able to practice our religion freely. I know that before I went on this trip I totally took this for granted, and after seeing the things that happened to our brothers and sisters, there's no way I can take that for granted any more.

I had always known about the Holocaust because my Grandfather was a survivor. I went to a Jewish day school and had learned a lot about the Holocaust, but there is nothing like being in those gas cambers in Auschwitz to make you truly understand the extent and how real it really is. Walking through the crematoria and barracks at these camps changes something inside of you. After seeing the atrocities of the Holocaust first hand, it would seem like a disgrace to go on taking my religion - and my freedom to practice it, for granted when millions of people died so that I can embrace my Judaism and not be persecuted for it.

Being in Poland and visiting the camps sparked my Jewish flame and I know that I will never forget what happened there.

- Hannah Gildar