Delivering challah and cheer to Shoah survivors
V LAST MARCH, just weeks before we were due to embark on the annual March of the Living, the pandemic hit and the programme was cancelled. Now, 12 months later, the March in Poland is again unable to take place.
March of the Living is the largest annual international Holocaust education programme that, to date, has taken more than 300,000 people from 52 countries to walk the 3.2km-long railroad tracks from Auschwitz to Birkenau, in tribute to the greatest loss in the history of the Jewish people and humanity.
We may not be able to be there in person but millions of people around the world will be able to take part virtually, on Yom HaShoah. The virtual march will be led by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, Holocaust survivors, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau and many others.
This year, participants will include survivors of Josef Mengele’s experiments and those who were saved by the selfless actions of doctors and
Neil Martin OBE is chair, Yom HaShoah UK nurses. As a tribute to these medical professionals who put their lives at risk during the Holocaust, medical associations from around the globe as well as those on the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 will take part in the march. There will also be a special event on “Medicine and Morality” with the participation of physicians from around the world.
One of the most moving aspects of the March of the Living is the chance to speak to survivors. This is more and more difficult, due to the age of the survivors and ongoing Covid restrictions. We urge you to take every opportunity to listen to a testimony. Please follow March of the Living UK on social media for updates on all Yom HaShoah events and opportunities to hear from a survivor.
Email admin@marchoftheliving.org.uk to join the mailing list or receive direct links to the Yom HaShoah programme and survivor testimonies.
Cassie Matus is chief executive officer at March of the Living UK
V JEWISH CARE has found innovative ways of keeping members of its Holocaust Survivors’ Centre connected, virtually, throughout the pandemic.
Now, Jewish Care has teamed up with the intergenerational charity Joy — which stands for Joining Old and Young — to connect the generations.
More than 130 Holocaust survivors welcome a weekly chat on a Friday with one of the volunteers, who deliver a challah, along with messages and colourful drawings by schoolchildren from local primary schools, wishing them Shabbat shalom.
“You cannot imagine what a delight it was for me to meet the young volunteer, Alissa, when she brought the challah to our door last Friday with a cheerful smile,” says Ruth Barnett, 86.
“It is these little gestures of thoughtfulness and kindness that mean so much in the pandemic and are so appreciated.”
“We’d like to thank Joy,” says Sarah Jane Burstein at Jewish Care, “for partnering with us on this great project, so that we could reach out to Holocaust survivors in the community, helping them to celebrate Shabbat.
“We couldn’t do it without our amazing volunteers who brighten their day with a visit and the Shabbat messages from the children that give the members a lift through the week.”
Jenny Kossow, founder of Joy, agrees: “It is about so much more than the challah. It is being able to make face to face contact and have people to talk to once again. This in itself is a means of combating loneliness and isolation.
“We’d like to thank City Bridge Trust for giving us the opportunity to run this wonderful Shabbat challah project with Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivor’s Centre.
“Thanks to Sharon Bakery for baking the challahs, as well as the marvellous local schools who are showing older people that they continue to be thought about and cared about by all in the community.”
Jewish Care will be marking Yom HaShoah with older members of the community online and with care home residents.
To connect with Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre online events and activities call 020 8202 9844 or email fliebert@ jcare.org