Ex-hostage Agam Berger will perform at Auschwitz during March of the Living
Former captives and their families, alongside relatives of current hostages and Oct. 7 victims, set to join 80 Holocaust survivors, marking 80 years since end of World War II
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Freed hostage and violinist Agam Berger will perform at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during the 37th March of the Living ceremony on April 24 as part of an Israeli delegation of former captives, relatives of victims of the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, Gaza border community residents, and Holocaust survivors.
This year’s March of the Living event will mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of World War II. The Israeli delegation will be led by President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog and will include 80 Holocaust survivors from Israel and around the world. Polish President Andrzej Duda will also attend.
Other members of the Israeli delegation include released hostage Eli Sharabi with his brother Sharon, as well as Tzili Wenkert, grandmother of freed hostage Omer Wenkert, along with freed hostages Ori Megidish, Raaya Rotem, Hagar Brodutch, Almog Meir Jan, Moran Stella Yanai, Gadi Mozes, Aviva Siegel, Keith Siegel, Shiri Weiss and Chen Goldstein-Almog.
“I won twice — once against the Nazis and once against Hamas,” said Tzili Wenkert. “I will march in the March of the Living as living proof that the Jewish people survive despite all attempts to destroy us.”
Bereaved members of the delegation will include Ofer Winner, father of Yahav Winner, who was murdered in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, and Shaylee Atari, Yahav’s widow. Ofer Winner is also the son of a Holocaust survivor.
Several sets of parents and relatives of victims of October 7 who were killed by Hamas at the Nova rave will join the delegation, including Reuven and Vered Yablonka, parents of Hanan Yablonka; Hanan and Rachel Tzarfati, parents of Ofir Tzarfati; Ilana Aline Atias, mother of Amit Buskila; and Nissim and Amit Louk, father and brother of Shani Louk.
The parents of freed hostage Omer Shem-Tov will join the group, as well as Faina and Michael Kuperstein, Holocaust survivors and the grandparents of hostage Bar Kuperstein, who is still in captivity in Gaza.
“I’ve lived a very difficult life and survived such hard times,” said Michael Kuperstein. “I hear what those who returned are saying about the hostages, and it’s like a second Holocaust. Bar is only 23, just at the beginning of his life, with so much ahead of him. I’m 84, fighting today so that all my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have better lives. I want all the hostages to return home so we can get our lives back.”
Agam Berger, a surveillance soldier who was taken captive on October 7 and released in January, will perform along with Kibbutz Be’eri resident Daniel Weiss — a vocalist and guitarist whose parents were both killed on October 7 — playing a 130-year-old violin that survived the Holocaust and was brought to Israel.
“Standing on the stage at Birkenau is a profound and moving mission for me,” said Weiss. “Sharing this moment with Agam Berger, as she plays a violin that survived the Holocaust, is a powerful reminder of music’s ability to connect generations, to heal, and to preserve the stories that must never be forgotten.”
The October 7 delegation is an initiative of the Menomadin Foundation, led by founder and president Haim Taib, in collaboration with the World Zionist Organization, chaired by Yaakov Hagoel, and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Taib said he is proud to lead the March of the Living delegation of October 7 survivors and heroes for the second consecutive year.
“Never Again is Now,” said Taib, “is a message that must echo in every home around the globe. We cannot remain indifferent when we see the parallel lines between the horrors the Jewish people experienced in the Holocaust, the October 7 pogrom, and the terrible days of captivity.”
The 80th year since the liberation of Auschwitz presents a moral call to action in the present and a foundation for shaping the future, said Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the World Zionist Organization.
Hagoel added that the presence of the Israeli and Polish presidents at the event underscores the shared responsibility to preserve memory, fight antisemitism and educate future generations on the lessons of the past.
“The horrific events of October 7 and the rise of antisemitism worldwide remind us how important it is to preserve our Jewish and Israeli identity, remember history, and work for a better world free of hatred and antisemitism,” said Shmuel Rosenman, chairman of the International March of the Living. “We will continue to educate about the Holocaust and to combat antisemitism on all fronts.”
