Standing Together: The Football Community at March of the Living 2025

Written by Ben Sweiry - Tackling Antisemitism in Sport Project Manager

Day 1

Before we took off on this years’ March of the Living journey, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My memory of my Year 12 Poland trip with school was hazy, at best. Going around football clubs and educating on contemporary antisemitism is one thing, but this is something different entirely. Often referred to as the “culmination of antisemitism”, and where state-sponsored racial hatred can lead if unchallenged and endorsed, the Holocaust is a topic that no one will truly ever be able to understand. The worst of humanity. One of the lowest low points in human history. And for a Jew, the most difficult and incomprehensible era in our 3000+ years of existence.

I was placed on the football bus, along with colleagues from Manchester City, Spurs, Fulham, The FA, Premier League, EFL, Labour Friends of Israel, and our bus leader Joe, and educator Robin.

An early start at Heathrow saw us arrive in Warsaw at around midday. We made our way to the Warsaw Jewish Cemetery - one of the largest in Europe. After a rather jovial morning of meeting our bus mates, leader and educator, we were firmly brought back to reality with a stark reminder of what we were on this trip to learn about and achieve. Over 250,000 Jews were buried in that cemetery, with most having been forced to live in the Warsaw Ghetto - a 1.3 square mile area, where Jews were subjected to horrific conditions, 200-calorie per day rations, and eventually forced to ‘resettle to the East’, which was euphemistic language for being relocated into one of the camps to a likely death.

We learnt about several prominent figures who lived in the Warsaw Ghetto, who were buried in this cemetery, but the one who resonated with me was Janusz Korczak. Korczak was many things, but he was most known as a man who dedicated his life to the wellbeing of young people and ran a renowned orphanage in the heart of the city of Warsaw. He was considered an elder in the community. He was offered a better life by the ‘Judenrat’ the Council of Jews who were forced into overseeing Jewish activity in the ghetto by the Nazi officers, to live in the ‘nicer’ part of the ghetto, but he refused to abandon his orphans. He eventually accompanied them to the Treblinka death camp, where they were murdered in 1942. Korczak was one example of the humans of the ghetto. What I mean by that, is that when we think of the Holocaust, we think of the camps, the numbers of people who perished. We don’t always hear the stories of those who risked their lives for others, who challenged the status quo put in place by the Nazis in this dark era. The stories of resistance are few and far between. The reality was that these were usually overpowered by the heavily armed regime.

Following this, we stopped off at the Ringelblum Archive Monument, and later on, were extremely fortunate to hear the testimony of Holocaust Survivor, Martin Stern MBE. Martin was 5 years old when he was sent from his native Amsterdam to Theresienstadt, and he and his infant sister survived because of sacrifice by others. Martin, towards the end of his account, made a point that stuck with me. He said, “we must not let the Nazis define our Judaism”. I thought that was extremely powerful. He was referring to an idea explored in Dara Horn’s, ‘People Love Dead Jews’. The idea is ultimately reminding us that the Nazis are not and should not be the main focal point within Judaism as we see it today. The Jews absolutely suffered some of the most horrible atrocities in the Holocaust, in human history. However, the beautiful Jewish traditions, culture and spirit existed long before the Nazi party, and it will live on long after.

Day 2

Day 2 started at Majdanek, or Lublin, Concentration Camp. The group were immediately struck by the vastness of the camp, until we were taught that this was actually on the smaller side compared to other camps built during the Holocaust era. This was our first experience of life in the camps, witnessing firsthand the brutal conditions that the Jews and other prisoners were subjected to, the inhumane state of the barracks, where dozens of people were forced into, and most harrowing, the gas chambers. We learnt about Operation Erntefest, otherwise known as Operation Harvest Festival. This inconspicuously named operation took place on 3rd November 1943 and was one of the darkest days of an already dark period. Some 18,000 Jews were forced to march up to the crematorium, instructed to dig a large hole, and put to their death via firearm. This took place from 6am to 6pm, the whole day. The largest massacre in one single day in this period. Maybe in history. It was difficult to hear but important for the group to bear witness. Survivor stories were rare, but throughout the tour of the Camp we read extracts from Halina Birenbaum’s testimony, who survived the gas chambers with a group of women, purely due to the Nazis having run out of the Zyklon B pellets they would use to commit this atrocity. She was later freed by the Red Army when Majdanek was liberated.

The first stop in the afternoon was in a small area called Markowa. Here, we learned of the efforts of Poles to save Jews, largely through hiding. There were reported to be around 8,000 ‘righteous’ individuals said to have gone to great lengths to hide Jewish people from the Nazis, often risking their own lives to do so. The final stop of the day was very emotionally taxing, and the one I remember most from my Year 12 trip. We arrived in the late afternoon at a monument in a small village called Zbylitowska Góra; more specially, in the Buczyna forest within it. This was used by the Nazis as a remote mass execution site, where over 10,000 people were murdered. It is most known for its mass grave, in which the bodies of 800 innocent Jewish children, who were taken from orphanages and murdered, lay. We lit a Yellow Candle and read a couple of memorial players and excerpts. This was a difficult moment in the trip.

Day 3

Wednesday was to be, again, a difficult day. The sites of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camps are probably the most synonymous with the Holocaust years. A place where over 900,000 Jews were killed, and for those who weren’t, they were forced to live in the most painstaking and difficult conditions. The word incomprehensible was used a lot. It was tough to walk where they walked, and tougher to walk where they met their end. The piles of shoes, hair and clothes displayed in Auschwitz I were very difficult to see. I’ve used the phrase “the worst of humanity” already, but really, this is the only way to describe this era in Jewish and human history.

Later in the day, we visited the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, where we learned about the thriving Jewish community that had existed in this small part of Poland next to Krakow since the Jews emigrated in the 15th century, and in the evening, the whole UK delegation of 250 participants, bus leaders, educators and Holocaust survivors, attended our Yom HaShoah ceremony. The highlight for me, and really for everyone in the room, was the speech written and given by David Hayhurst, EDI Manager at the EFL. The testimony he gave was moving, empowering and I truly believe that others in the room have been inspired by his words to educate others and share the story of what happened to the Jews in this dark period of history.

Day 4

Our final day in Poland was the day of the March. Before the event, we spent some of the morning in Krakow exploring the area that was previously the Krakow ghetto, hearing the story of Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a Polish pharmacist whose shop was within the confines of the ghetto. He notably refused the Germans' offer to let him relocate to another part of the city. He also went out of his way to aid Jews by providing free medication and allowing the pharmacy to be used as a meeting place for resisters. His story is seen as a story of resistance, and he was later recognised as a “Righteous Among the Nations” for his bravery in aiding the Jewish efforts of survival in the Holocaust era.

We then made our way to Auschwitz I, where the ‘March of the Living’ began. It was very special to see so many Jewish people and allies from around the world - I’m told around 7,500 individuals. The UK procession started at around 2pm and we marched out of the concentration camp with our compatriots - something that most people who were sent there in the 1940s did not do. The 3km walk between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Birkenau) was a powerful hour; for me, one of personal reflection and a true celebration of life and the living. We walked up to the tracks and then through the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau and took our seats for the international ceremony, alongside the Presidents of Israel and Poland, and were scheduled to have the privilege to hear former hostage, Agam Berger, perform on a 130-year-old violin salvaged from the Holocaust. However, it wasn’t to be, as the heavens opened, and thunder and lightning ensued, and the British delegation alongside others made their way back out of the Auschwitz gates.

There was something quite powerful about the torrential weather conditions that occurred during the ceremony. I heard people suggest that today, G-d was crying with us. It was the first time in 37 years that this ceremony was forced to conclude early. Nonetheless, the feeling of being alongside such a vast number of people commemorating the atrocities of the 1930s and 40s, and celebrating Jewish life together, is a feeling that I will always remember.

My March of the Living journey is one that I’m not going to forget anytime soon. It was very difficult at times to hear what my people went through. It was also incredible to hear the accounts of three Holocaust survivors over the course of the 4 days. I thought I knew what I was getting myself in for before I went out, but really, my prior knowledge barely scratched the surface. I believe that no one will ever be able to truly understand or comprehend the Why. However, visiting these sites and bearing witness is a step closer to ensuring that Never Again means Never Again.