Over the course of three days, Dutch and Germans will walk 330 km together on the Westerbork Pad from Herineringscentrum Westerbork to the Hollandsche Schouwburg.
They are thereby remembering the deportation of over 100,000 Jews from the Westerbork transit camp to the Auschwitz and Sobibor extermination camps, which began on July 15, 1942. These deportations, which claimed the lives of over 90% of the Jewish population in the Netherlands, were only possible due to the systematically stoked hatred of Jews and the indifference of the majority of the population. Today, when antisemitism is once again showing its ugly face after October 7, they are taking a stand for Jewish life and for Israel saying:
Am Israel Chai!
How To Join
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Step 1: Gather two to four people around you and organize a carpool with whom you can be at the Mars van het Leven, either for the whole time or single days.
Step 2: Register with your carpool using the form.
Step 3: If you join for more than one day, book accommodations together with your carpool, if needed.
Step 4: Come to the launch event in Hooghalen on Thursday July 11 with your team OR to the single day/event you registered for.
(If you only want to join the public evening events in Hilversum on Saturday and Amsterdam on Sunday, you don’t need to register.)
Dutch and Germans Together Against Antisemitism! Am Israel Chai!
© Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Historical Background
Hollandsche Schouwburg: From 1942 onwards, the Nazi administration used the former Amsterdam theater as a collection point for the deportation of Amsterdam Jews to the concentration and extermination camps in Eastern Europe. Within a year, a total of 46,000 Dutch Jews were rounded up and taken from there to Westerbork.
Camp Westerbork: In July 1942, the Westerbork refugee camp was officially declared a Jewish transit camp, from which mass transports of the Jewish population went to the extermination camps in Eastern Europe. Of the 107,000 Jews who were deported, only 5,000 survived.
Westerbork Pad: The Westerborkpad is a memorial path in the Netherlands that is over 300 km long. The hiking trail begins at the Hollandsche Schouwburg in Amsterdam and leads along the railway line on which the Jewish population was brought to the Westerbork camp by train.
Provisional Program
Friday, July 12th, 2024
8 am: Visit to the Westerbork Museum
Address: Oosthalen 8, 9414 TG Hooghalen
9:30 am: Memorial ceremony at the track monument and joint march from the former camp
11 am: Departure in teams and walking the first 10 sections
Evening: Free
Saturday, July 13th, 2024
9:30 am: Open-air start event in Zwolle
10 am: Departure in teams and walking the second 10 sections
7 pm: March of Life Evening at Celebration Church in Hilversum (no registration needed)
Address: Neuweg 148, 1214 HA Hilversum
Sunday, July 14th, 2024
9:30 am: Open-air start event in Kamp Amersfoort
Address: Loes van Overeemlaan 19, 3832 RZ Leusden
10 am: Departure in teams and walking the last 10 sections
6:30 pm: Night to Honor Israel in Amsterdam in the Keerpunt Gebouw (no registration needed)
Address: Arent Janszoon Ernststraat 302-304 1082 LT Amsterdam
How Does the Mars van het Leven Work:
Walking Routes
- The total distance of 331 km is divided into 30 stages. Each day, 10 stages are completed in teams.
- There are 3 levels of difficulty. Each team will be assigned one level: easy (6-9 km/day), medium (9-13 km/day), advanced (14-17 km/day).
- Each team receives a start and finish point for each stage, including parking spaces with Google Maps coordinates, as well as the route via the hiking app Komoot.
Transportation
- The participants drive to the events, accommodations and the starting points by car.
- At least two cars are always required for a stage. The group meets at the starting point and gets out there. Two drivers drive the two cars to the end point and park one of the cars there. The second car drives back to the starting point with both drivers.
- When the group has arrived at the end point, the drivers pick up the second car from the starting point with the car parked there.
- Because of this transportion system, registration and participation in the Mars van het Leven is only possible with your own car or as part of a carpool.
Accommodations
- The participants and their carpool book accommodations themselves near the events/stages.
- We recommend the following places for accommodation:
- Thursday, July 11, to Saturday, July 13: Accommodation between Westerbork and Zwolle (e.g. in Meppel or Hoogeveen)
- Saturday, July 13, until Sunday, July 14, or Monday, July 15: Accommodation near Hilversum
- This information is only relevant for participants who take part in the March of Life for more than one day.
Equipment and Food
- For each day on the Westerbork Pad, participants need comfortable shoes and clothing that protects against wind, rain and sun (headgear) and a backpack for food.
- Each participant/carpool/team is responsible for their own meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner)
Fees
- For German participants 50€, for Dutch participants free. Please consider to support March of Life with your donation.
- The costs for travel, accommodations and meals are borne by each participant themselves; these vary individually, depending on personal preferences.
Organizer:
March of Life e.V.
Eisenbahnstr. 124
D – 72072 Tübingen
Phone: +49 (0) 7071 138 9879
E-mail: +49 (0) 7071 363 41