The very changeable weather with hours of heavy rain could not stop the Dutch and German participants of the first “Mars van het Leven” from walking over 300 km from Westerbork to Amsterdam to set an example against anti-Semitism and for Israel. Along the way, there were special encounters of reconciliation, but also confrontations with anti-Semitism.
Almost 82 years after the first deportation to Auschwitz on July 15, 1942, the first March of Life in the Netherlands began with a commemoration at the Westerbork memorial. From here, 107,000 Jews were deported to the extermination camps in the East, of whom only 5,000 returned alive. The large numbers often make these events difficult to comprehend. The victims were given a face when Jan Barendse Jr. talked about his grandfather’s family, which was almost completely wiped out in the Shoah. When he was there, he realized that at least 80 members of his family also had to pass through Westerbork. Not only the victims, but also the perpetrators had faces: Bärbel Pfeiffer tearfully told the story of her grandfather, who was a technician involved in the construction of the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Together with about 70 participants, they walked silently through the former camp grounds carrying a banner with the message of the march: “Am Israel Chai – the people of Israel live”. The march stopped at the two cattle wagons that stand as a memorial on the site, and the participants laid roses in memory of those who were deported and murdered.
Special encounters on the three daily stages
Afterwards, the participants were divided into 10 teams, each of which covered part of the approximately 100-kilometer daily stages over three days: on the first day, from Westerbork to Zwolle in pouring rain; on the second day, from Zwolle to Amersfoort in changing weather; and on the third day, from Amersfoort to Amsterdam in bright sunshine. At the public events in Zwolle at the former “Gymnasium Celeanum” and at the “Kamp Amersfoort” memorial, more and more participants joined the small teams each day. There were always special encounters between the Dutch and German participants, but also with passers-by along the way. In the groups, the participants told each other their family stories: Descendants of Dutch collaborators walked alongside the children of former resistance fighters and German SS officers. During the march, the German participants met a 90-year-old man who had lost his home during the German bombing of Rotterdam. After personally asking for forgiveness, the old man was deeply moved. Never before had a German apologized to him. Another team met a Jewish family in Amsterdam who were very grateful for the sign of solidarity, but who warned, looking at the “Am Israel Chai” sign: “It’s dangerous to walk here like this”.
The fact that anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel are very real in the Netherlands was experienced by the teams on route, sometimes through hostile looks and insults, but on one occasion in Amsterdam via a direct confrontation. A young Dutch woman wearing a Palestinian scarf grabbed the “Am Israel Chai” sign from the March of Life team. A participant reclaimed the sign and the ensuing discussion showed how much modern anti-Semitic propaganda has overshadowed the lessons of the Shoah for many people, and how the old hatred of Jews has resurfaced with a new face.
Closing in Amsterdam
The highlight and conclusion of the Mars van het Leven was the “Night to Honor Israel” in the premises of the Pentecostal Church in Amsterdam. Chief Rabbi Benjamin Jacobs reported how he and the Jewish community have been confronted with anti-Semitism once again since October 7th, even insults by small children, and emphasized the importance of the Mars van het Leven as a public signal for Jewish life and Israel. “Next time I would like to walk with you,” were his final words. March of Life founder Jobst Bittner reiterated the message of the March of Life: “The story of the Holocaust is really a story of indifference and followers. We want to speak out because our fathers and grandfathers did not. We are going to say: Church and community, you must do something.” Arenda Haasnoot, project partner of the March of Life in the Netherlands, expressed the wish that this Mars van het Leven would be a starting signal for many more marches: “It was a great pleasure to participate in this march and I hope that it is not the last, but the first!
