March of the Living

Powerful documentary that brought me to tears several times mostly as the survivors are telling their stories, showing their tattoos or returning for the first time to the place where their families were murdered.

March Of The Living brings together and profiles several teenagers and holocaust survivors from different countries who then travel to Germany and on to Israel. Traveling by bus the group retrace the steps of the survivors harrowing journey, from Auschwitz to Birkenhau, in the process visiting sites of great historic importance. These teens will be the last generation to hear the stories first hand and its an eye opening experience.

I think some of the boys reactions were the most surprising, so shaken by viewing the crematoriums and in particular the room of human hair or seeing the mountain of shoes -each representing a life that they can barely hold it together. The (silent) march itself takes up very little time within the doc but is a fantastic idea, as it held a feeling of power as well as remembrance. I visited Buchenwald and it is an experience I will never forget, which is as it should be. Contains some subtitles. 7/27/14

Greetings again from the darkness. Count me guilty as one of the movie lovers who have silently sworn off Holocaust movies. Actually, I've done so many times. Though neither Jewish nor German, revisiting these atrocities drains me of life force and has me questioning the human race … as if there aren't plenty of current events already justifying such a reaction.

Director Jessica Sanders takes on the annual (since 1988) gathering of Holocaust survivors and Jewish teenagers as they turn what was once known as the March of Death (Auschwitz to Birkenau) into the March of the Living. It's one of the most inspirational and life affirming presentations one could ask for. Many categorize the annual trek as a form of education, and while true, the label falls a bit a short. It's also a legacy, a cultural phenomenon, and a reminder that the worst human beings are capable of unthinkable forms of evil, while the best possess a spirit that survives all.

Knowing this is the last generation of teenagers who will hear the stories directly from the concentration camp survivors adds a level of immediacy and poignancy. No history book can capture the soul-bearing pain as a survivor locates the stone at the Treblinka site which bears the family name Ostrowiec – her older sisters were killed there. Even when the teenagers react with such lines as "Dude, this is immense" (while viewing Birkenau), it's obvious their normally cool façade is impacted by what they are seeing (including the mound of human ashes at Majdanek) and the personal stories being told.

Having the journey and film proceed to Israel reinforces the strength of a people, and leaves us with the film's ultimate lesson … "not to hate, but to remember".