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Under the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes You Free) gate at Auschwitz, two Israeli hostages recently freed from Gaza—Agam Berger and Ori Megidish—embraced Holocaust survivors Irene Shashar and Gita Kaufman in a powerful moment of shared resilience and remembrance on Wednesday. This year’s March of the Living, marking 80 years since the liberation of Nazi death camps, is shadowed by the horrors of the October 7 Hamas massacre—a connection many participants say is impossible to ignore.
Megidish, who was rescued in a military operation, and Berger, released in a hostage deal, shared a long embrace with the Holocaust survivors. “We defeated the enemy, didn’t we, girls?” Shashar cried. “We endured horrors, and yet here we are—standing strong in the face of evil.”
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Former Israeli hostages Agam Berger and Ori Megidish—met Holocaust survivors Irene Shashar and Gita Kaufman at Auschwitz
(Photo:: Ziv Koren)
Holocaust survivor Deborah Weinstein said October 7 reminded her of her childhood trauma. “Seeing the burning houses in Be’eri—it was like a second Holocaust,” she said. “It brought me back to that moment as a little girl when our house was on fire and my mother ran into the flames to save her sewing machine.”
The grandparents of kidnapped Israeli Bar Kuperstein, Holocaust survivors Faina and Michael, pleaded for his return. In a heart-wrenching message, they urged Israeli leadership to finalize a deal and bring the hostages home.
Daniel Weiss, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri whose parents were murdered on October 7, will perform at the closing ceremony in Birkenau Thursday alongside Berger, who will play a 130-year-old violin that survived the Holocaust. At the opening ceremony, Weiss sang “One Human Fabric” before an audience that included Holocaust survivors, released hostages, bereaved families and relatives of those still held in Gaza.
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The returned hostages and Holocaust survivors embrace under Auscwitz's notorious sign
(Photo: Ziv Koren)
“To stand here is an emotional mission,” he said. “It reminds us of the power of music to connect generations, to heal, and to preserve stories that must never be forgotten.”
At the Majdanek concentration camp, recently released hostage Keith Siegel said, “It is a great honor to be here with you. Just over two months ago, I returned home after 484 days in Hamas captivity. Since then, I’ve tried to do what I can to help bring back the remaining 59 hostages.” Quoting Holocaust resistance fighter Chavka Fulman-Raban, Siegel said, “Returning to life felt almost impossible. What kept us going was faith and hope that the new world would be different.”
Former hostage Moran Stela Yanai recounted her own harrowing escape attempt. “I’m standing here today looking out toward the tree line, the same one I saw when I was trapped in the middle of a potato field with nothing in sight, hoping that if I could just reach it, I might survive,” she said. She added that her connection to the Holocaust began long before her own trauma. “I’ve studied this since childhood, trying to understand. This place takes on a new meaning now. I keep asking how such horrors happened—and how we, as a society, must ensure it never happens again, to anyone, anywhere.”
Holocaust survivor Sarah Weinstein told the group, “Only when all our brothers and sisters in the tunnels return home will our recovery—yours and ours—be possible.”
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Delegation of former hostages and families of hostages who arrived at the March of the Living in Auschwitz
(Photo: Elinor Lelouch Rotem/Keren Manomdin)
Revital Yechin Krakowski, deputy CEO of March of the Living, called this year’s event “a once-in-a-generation march.” Eighty Holocaust survivors are leading the event commemorating 80 years since the camps’ liberation. They are joined by Mary Jean Eisenhower, granddaughter of Gen. and later U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who helped liberate Europe. She will march alongside the very people her grandfather helped save.
A delegation of UN ambassadors led by Israeli envoy Danny Danon toured Krakow’s Jewish Quarter, including the historic pharmacy of Tadeusz Pankiewicz, who hid Jews during the Holocaust, and Oskar Schindler’s factory.
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“These places tell a story of horror, but also of hope,” Danon said. “Alongside the Nazis’ cruelty were individuals who chose humanity and saved lives. We must continue telling these stories—so the world remembers, learns, and never repeats the past.”
Thursday marks the 37th global March of the Living, held in memory of the Jews murdered in the Holocaust and in honor of the survivors. Israeli President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog will lead the march under heavy security, alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda and 80 survivors from around the world.