Some walked under America’s stars and stripes. Others carried flags bearing Israel’s Star of David, or Iran’s red, white, and green. But the marchers at SMU on a sunny Saturday were united in their purpose — to honor survivors of the Holocaust and stand together against antisemitism.
Rabbi Heidi Coretz, executive director of Hillel at SMU, estimated that 200 Muslims and Christians joined their Jewish classmates and neighbors on April 19 at the fifth annual March of Remembrance, which was hosted by The Nathaniel Foundation and Hillel at SMU.
March of Remembrance Dallas is a local chapter of March of Life, an organization created as a response to the Holocaust. The marches have grown into a worldwide movement of Christian leaders and universities in partnership with the Jewish community. The march is held during the season of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
This year’s event at SMU featured testimony from child survivor Rosian Zerner.
“We were forced to go to the ghetto, which was the holding place where we were told we were just there for a while, and nobody knew what was happening,” Zerner remembered.
She also recounted her escape from the Lithuanian ghetto, recalling that, “My father’s secretary was waiting for me in the shadows. I was crying my eyes out, I didn’t know what was happening.”
Among the dignitaries present was Nicola Bremer, honorary consul of Germany in Dallas.
“More than 55 million people lost their lives (in World War II), and an additional 35 million were left disabled,” Bremer said. “These numbers are etched into the German collective memory and impose a lasting responsibility never to tolerate injustice and never to look away again.”
As part of the program, seven candles were lit in remembrance of the six million Jews and many others killed during the Holocaust.
As they marched around campus, program participants carried flags and signs with messages including, “I will not be silent” and “never again!”
In keeping with tradition, attendees placed stones with survivors’ names on a tombstone. The march was followed by a reception.
“I hope people learned the importance of doing their part to speak up and act against hatred,” Rabbi Coretz said of the event.
Participant Grace Lee said events like the March of Remembrance are key to preventing future atrocities.
“I strongly suggest spreading the word and participating each year so that history will not repeat itself,” she said.
Another attendee, Marian Ganjali Dashti, noted that trauma from the past has a lasting impact.
“A lot of wounds, trauma, sadness that people carry from the past, it’s affecting the present,” he said.
Author
