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International March of the Living Responds to Bondi Beach Shooting
‘Australia has looked away as hatred of Jews intensified. That silence led to today’s attack.’ International March of the Living issued the following statement…
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‘Being There Changes You’: Young Jewish Professionals Describe the March of the Living Experience That Became a Turning Point
Registration to the 2026 March of the…
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87 Years Since Kristallnacht: A Statement from Holocaust Survivors Who Lived Through the 1938 Pogrom
Walter Bingham (101), George Shefi (94), and Paul Alexander (90) (Photo: Sam Churchill) We, Holocaust survivors, lived through the Kristallnacht pogrom as children in Germany.We saw with our own eyes how hatred turned to flames, how indifference became complicity, and how the world stayed silent as Jews were attacked.Today, 87 years later, we look around us and say with deep pain: the world has learned nothing.Once again, Jews are murdered for being Jews. Once again, synagogues are attacked. Once again, universities remain silent in the face of incitement.Hatred of Israel and the Jewish people spreads like a plague.The world today is no safer for Jews than it was 87 years ago. In today’s atmosphere, Kristallnacht could happen again.We call on governments to act decisively to eradicate antisemitism and to strengthen Holocaust education.Learn history. Teach your children what happens when the world stays silent.We say this from a lifetime of experience: antisemitism does not disappear on its own.It grows when met with silence. It thrives where ignorance prevails. It stops only when courageous people – Jews and non-Jews alike – stand up and say: enough.Unlike the glass shattered on Kristallnacht, the Jewish spirit did not break, and will never break.Our spirit is stronger than fire, more stubborn than hate, and shines even in the darkest times.Am Yisrael Chai.Walter Bingham, George Shefi, Paul Alexander LEARN MOREEighty-seven years ago, on November 9–10, 1938, the Kristallnacht Pogrom marked a turning point in history. Across Germany and Austria, Nazi-led mobs burned and looted more than 1,400 synagogues and thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, murdered scores of Jews, and sent some 30,000 to concentration camps. The shattered glass that covered the streets became a warning of what was to follow — the murder of six million Jews and the destruction of centuries of Jewish life across Europe.Today, the same forces of hatred and extremism are once again on the rise. According to the ADL, nearly half of adults worldwide — over two billion people — hold antisemitic views. In 2023 alone, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose by 140%, while attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions spiked globally after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel. From Manchester to Washington, D.C., Jews are once again being targeted simply for being Jewish.Attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have dramatically spiked around the world following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Most recently, two people were murdered during a terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue in England on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Just a few months prior to that, two young Israeli embassy staffers were murdered by a terrorist gunman in Washington, D.C. Other attacks on Jewish and Israeli institutions have occurred recently in Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, and Poland.Holocaust survivors who witnessed Kristallnacht and have marched with the International March of the Living express deep alarm at these trends, warning that the atmosphere today echoes the darkest days of their youth. Walter Bingham (101), George Shefi (94), and Paul Alexander (90) were all children in Germany during Kristallnacht. Their message today is clear: the world has learned nothing. We must act now — through education, remembrance, and moral courage — to confront antisemitism and all forms of hatred before history repeats itself. READ THEIR MESSAGE Two years ago, they retraced their childhood escape from Nazi Germany. The journey, initiated by the International March of the Living, took place just one day after the October 7 attacks. From Germany, they watched as Israel’s southern communities burned during the pogrom that struck the country. They later joined the March of the Living in Poland. Their journey was documented in a short film: WATCH NOW READ MORE IN THE WASHINGTON POST “Kristallnacht sought to erase Jewish existence from public life. Eighty-seven years later, the greatest act of defiance is to live openly and proudly as Jews; to educate, to create, to build, and to stand together. Jewish pride is not a slogan; it is the quiet, steadfast continuation of everything our enemies sought to destroy.On this 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht, we remember the shattered glass, but we also remember what was never broken: the Jewish spirit. From the ruins of synagogues rose new communities; from the ashes of hate emerged generations who refused to disappear.”Scott Saunders, CEO, International March of the Living Remembering Eve Kugler, BEM (1931-2025) Eve Kugler z”l, Halle – Germany 2019 (Photo: Sam Churchill)Born in 1931 in Halle, Germany, Eve Kugler experienced the horrors of Kristallnacht first hand, before fleeing to France on the eve of World War II. In 1942, Eve received a visa to the US where she lived for the duration of war. As an adult, Eve worked as a journalist in the US before moving to London in 1990.Through her educational efforts in the UK and beyond, including her participation for over a decade in the March of the Living, Eve educated thousands of young people about the history and lessons of the Holocaust. In 2022 she made a historic visit to Dubai, giving her testimony on Kristallnacht.“Learning what happened to the Jewish people, how terrible it was, and you know, how six million people, including over a million children, perished. That this is something which should not be repeated. And if you understand it and take in what happened, hopefully, that you will do what you can in whatever small way even if it’s just speaking to other people, and telling them about what you’ve seen, and telling them, sharing even just this experience to try and make people see that they should… stop killing each other.”Eve passed away on April 23, 2025, just a day before she was scheduled to join a delegation of 80 Holocaust survivors on the March of the Living.Watch Eve Kugler’s emotional return to her birthplace in Halle, Germany, together with the UK March of the Living. Jews Forbidden! – Eve Kugler Remembers The 1938 Kristallnacht Pogrom WATCH NOW READ MORE FROM SCOTT SAUNDERS Standing Jewish, Standing Proud: Eighty-Seven Years After KristallnachtMolly Phillips, 2025 Participant at the UK March of the Living delegation“I wish I could write about an upward path of 87 years of diminishing antisemitism. But reality is painfully different. We are seeing Jews murdered in Manchester and Amsterdam, banned from football stadiums, and even arrested for wearing a Magen David. Most disturbingly, I hear our youth – students – calling for renewed violence on university campuses.It feels like my duty and my privilege to uphold Jewish life wherever I can. I find strength in the stories of our community, in our collective resilience, and in our shared will to survive. This spirit was solidified for me on March of the Living last spring. Listening to Holocaust survivors, hearing their stories of endurance and renewal, reminded me that Jewish survival is not only about living through tragedy; it is about choosing life after it.Together, we marched. We did not stroll or wander; we marched – a statement of righteous survival and defiant continuity.Looking ahead, I see love stronger than hate, kindness over cruelty, spirit over destruction. Peace may feel distant, but it is not out of reach – and a strong, proud Jewish community will help lead us there”. READ MOLLY’S OP-ED From the NewsIsraeli survivors of Kristallnacht mark 87th anniversary of Nazi riots amid rising antisemitismAP News | The HillHolocaust Survivor Walter Bingham Op-Ed JPostRevital Yakin Krakovsky Op-Ed Time of Israel
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An Embrace Across Generations
When Holocaust survivors and survivors of October 7 walked…
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“Silence is Not an Option”: Remembering Paula Lebovics, Z”L
International March of the Living mourns the recent passing of beloved Holocaust survivor and educator Paula Lebovics. Over the last few decades, Paula lived up to her lifelong motto, “silence…
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Reflection from Ori Megidish, who returned from captivity in Gaza and took part in the 2025 March of the Living
“Hearing Holocaust survivor Sarah…
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Remembering Ben Lesser Z”L
International March of the Living mourns the passing of Holocaust survivor and educator, Ben Lesser. Ben passed away on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at the age of 96, on…
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Shana Tova U’Metukah
The International March of the Living wishes all of its survivor educators, alumni, staff, supporters and friends around the world a…
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