80th anniversary of Nazi surrender: Thousands expected to participate in the "March of the Living"

The traditional "March of the Living" from Auschwitz to Birkenau will begin today (Thursday) at 2 p.m., and will take place for about two and a half hours. 8,000 people are expected to participate in this year's parade, including Holocaust survivors, survivors of the October 7 massacre, those released from captivity with their families, and bereaved families.

The parade will end with a ceremony in Birkenau. President Isaac Herzog will arrive in Poland later in the day, and will march together with local President Andrzej Duda. The two will speak to the media together, and then join the rest of the marchers.

This year, about 80 Holocaust survivors are participating in the March of the Living, half of them from Israel and half from the Diaspora, and their ages are between 80 and 97. Three of the Holocaust survivors who will take part in this year's parade are grandparents of hostages. One of them is Tzili Wenkert, Omer's grandmother, who returned from captivity as part of the last deal. In addition to her, the grandparents of the abducted Barak Kuperstein, who is still in terrible captivity in Gaza, will march.

Alongside them, a delegation of dozens of POWs and their families will also march, including Moran Sela Yanai and the lookouts - Agam Berger and Uri Magidish. The POWs together with the survivors of the October 7 massacre set out together with the help of the Menomadin Foundation and the World Zionist Organization.