March of the Living UK is an extraordinary, unforgettable experience. It is a packed 5 day educational journey in Poland where UK Students, Young Adults and Adults join the March of the Living UK team of the best educators and remarkable Survivors to learn about 1,000 Years of Jewish Life in Poland and the devastation and horrors of the Holocaust. You will experience the International March of the Living event where the UK delegation joins thousands of people, from countries all around the world, to share in a once in a lifetime experience marching the three kilometres from Auschwitz to Birkenau. You can be there to participate in this historic, life-changing event.
Booking
Once we receive the form and the deposit we will review your application and confirm your place via email.
Before booking, please ensure that you have read through the trip details to understand that this can be a physically and emotionally challenging experience. The daily programme will be intense with early starts, late finishes, long bus journeys and hours spent walking and standing outdoors.
Information about the Trip
Flights
Flights are booked by March of the Living UK. Included in the trip price are flights from London, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. It is the participant’s responsibility to meet at the UK airports.
Insurance
All participants must have their own health & travel insurance including cover for Covid – 19.
Hotels
In Poland we stay in 4* hotels. We try for all groups to stay in the same hotel so if you have family members on different buses you will have some time with them early morning and late evening as meals are usually together.
Room Sharing (for Students and Young Adults)
Over your stay in Poland you will be grouped in rooms with one or two others in your group. If you do not specify who you wish to share a room with, we will pair you with another person or persons. Naturally we will try to do this based on age and bus but this is not always possible.
If you are an adult and require a single room there will be a single supplement charge of £350.
Food
All food is kosher on this trip and is shipped from Israel. Breakfast & Dinner are in the hotel and there will be a packed lunch. If you have any dietary issues we recommend that you bring some of your own food -this is especially important for vegans and those with more specific requirements.
Your Preparation for the Trip
There will be an Orientation Day for everyone in March which we would encourage you to join. Details will be sent out after booking. This is the opportunity for you to meet others in the group, learn about what to expect from your trip, get more information on the trip itself and meet your bus leader.
For over one thousand years there has been a Jewish presence in Poland. Throughout that period, there followed alternating periods of peace and persecution. During the latter, there were mass Jewish emigrations to the West – nevertheless by the 20th century, Jews formed 10% of the population of Poland.
On September 1st 1939 Germany invaded Poland, and over the next five years Poland would become a graveyard for the Jews of Europe. In 1939 there were 3.3 million Jews living within the Polish borders, by 1945 only 300000 were left. The great synagogues burnt, thousand of Jewish buildings and prayer houses razed to the ground, ancient cemeteries uprooted, tens of thousands of books and ritual objects destroyed… an entire civilisation decimated.
The Nazi extermination camps were all located in Poland including the largest concentration camp, Auschwitz.
Today Poland has seen a re-emergence of Jewish culture and life. Old Synagogues are being returned to communities, often to be used as museums. Across Poland there are hundreds of monuments and exhibitions dedicated to the Jews of pre war Poland and the Shoah. In our learning of the Holocaust we must always realise that to know what was lost we must know what was there before.