Holocaust survivors and Nazi descendants unite in March of Life conference
The March of Life was founded in 2007 by Jobst and Charlotte Bittner, bringing together Jews and Holocaust survivors with descendants of Nazi perpetrators to fight antisemitism and support Israel.
By URI BOLLAGUpdated: FEBRUARY 14, 2019 21:44A flower lies in the train tracks at Gleis 17 memorial in Berlin, where thousands of Holocaust victims were deported to concentration camps(photo credit: THOMAS PETER/REUTERS)
The Fourth Annual March of Life conference is set to take place between February 15-17 in Tuebingen, with friends and supporters of the March of Life movement attending the conference, which runs under the slogan "Living Memory - Reconciled into the Future - An audible voice against Antisemitism."The March of Life was founded in 2007 by Jobst and Charlotte Bittner, bringing together Jews and Holocaust survivors with descendants of Nazi perpetrators to fight antisemitism and express support for the State of Israel.“For ten years, March of Life has enabled and motivated tens of thousands of people around the world to be an effective voice against antisemitism and Jew hatred through their personal confrontation with the Shoah and by working through their own family histories," Jobst Bittner said."New nations and cities are added every year, making the March of Life a dynamic, growing movement - and yet we are only at the beginning,” he added.Since its inception, the march has taken place in 22 nations and more than 400 cities in partnership with Christians and Jews from around the world.Speakers at the conference include Josh Reinstein, Director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and President of the Israel Allies Foundation, Shaya Ben Yehuda, Director of International Relations at Yad Vashem, Edward Cwierz, National Coordinator of the Marches of Life in Poland and Bittner himself.Other national and international speakers will also address the crowd.Dr. Arie Itamar will be the guest of honor. Itamar is a Holocaust survivor who boarded the refugee ship "Exodus 1947" as an eight-year-old boy with another 4500 Jewish refugees, sailing from Southern France to then-mandatory territory of Palestine.Itamar will share his moving story in order to help the audience appreciate the importance of the State of Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people.“The March of Life has become an international voice for both remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust, as well as supporting the State of Israel," Reinstein said. "At this upcoming conference, I look forward to encouraging all the attendees to join the growing grassroots network of faith-based supporters of Israel who stand against antisemitism and anti-Zionism and actively fight its newest form, the BDS movement.”
