As many as 20,000 people from Panama to Uzbekistan are expected to participate in the annual March of the Living program in Poland this week, making this year´s march the largest to date.

As many as 20,000 people from Panama to Uzbekistan are expected to participate in the annual March of the Living program in Poland this week, making this year´s march the largest to date.

Opening ceremonies for the Holocaust Remembrance Day pilgrimage are to begin Wednesday night, followed by the three-kilometer march itself, from Auschwitz to Birkenau, on Thursday. Itineraries differ after that, with the many independent groups participating in the program focusing on various aspects of Jewish life in Poland during and since the Holocaust. Many of the groups will continue on (or return) to Israel on Sunday for more touring and educational experiences.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is joining the March of the Living on Thursday and, while he is undoubtedly the highest-profile participant this year, he is by no means the only VIP. Senior Polish officials will accompany Sharon, as will Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.

Nobel prizewinning author and Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel will address the gathering. Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, who is Jewish, will lead a Canadian contingent. Even Eric Braeden, the German-born (non-Jewish) star of the American soap opera The Young and the Restless, an avid supporter of Israel, will be there, too.

In addition to perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust, the March of the Living has been found to have a profound effect on its participants´ connection to their Jewish identity. Funded by numerous Jewish organizations and Israeli agencies, the program has continually grown since its beginning in 1988.

This year, participation is more than twice that of last year´s event. In addition to Holocaust survivors and Jewish high school and college students, Jewish adults up to age 45 and even non-Jewish teachers and university students from Europe and Asia have made the trip as well. A birthright israel group is also among those taking part in the March of the Living. (© 1995-2005, The Jerusalem Post 05/04/05)