Auschwitz concentration camp Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Over 10,000 international students are expected to take part in the March of the Living, an educational program that brings together students from a variety of backgrounds on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. They will march from the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz to Birkenau, both located in southern Poland.

This year's march, which takes place on April 19 and marks March of the Living's 25th anniversary, will also bring together World War II concentration camp liberators and Holocaust survivors, most of whom have never met before.

“The 2012 March of the Living is dedicated to survivors and liberators,” said Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, chairman of March of the Living. “Liberators are among our most relevant and credible witnesses. When our students listen to a witness, they become a witness and are superbly equipped to carry the message forward to future generations.”

Following the march and a week in Poland studying the roots of the Holocaust, members of the group will travel to Israel, where they will celebrate Israel's Independence Day.

“Three generations removed from the events of the Holocaust, it is imperative to establish an incontrovertible and everlasting testament to the truth and ensure a brighter future for all humanity,” said Dr. David Machlis, vice chairman of March of the Living.

“For the sake of history and humanity, we must record [survivors' and liberators'] experiences and preserve their recollections while we are still able.”