The first March of Remembrance, 300 people on the street in Dallas, Jews and Christians honor Holocaust survivors and set a clear mark against modern anti-Semitism.
On April 21, 2009 (Holocaust Remembrance Day), the March of Remembrance took place in nine cities in the US.
This event happened on the very day the UN anti-racism conference, labeled Durban II, was opened in Geneva, which was supposed to end up as a tribunal against Israel. The March of Remembrance was initiated by the musician Ted Pearce because of his participation in the March of Life 2007 and 2008 in Germany. Ted Pearce recalled how he had been deeply touched by the reconciliation that had happened between Holocaust survivors and people who had suffered loss due to Nazi crimes on the one side, and German Christians whose ancestors had been involved in the Third Reich on the other side. Therefore he wanted to apply the life-changing strategy of a march like that in the US, since a great portion of Diaspora Jews lived there today. That is why the songwriter called upon people from his entire sphere of activity to participate in the March of Remembrance, and he won them for his vision. The first March of Remembrance was held in nine cities throughout the US: Dallas, TX; Cocoa Beach, FL; Miami, FL; Gig Harbor, WA; Farmington, NM; Dayton, OH; Albany, OR; as well as in two cities in California and Arizona.
In Dallas, about 300 people met in front of the Jewish Holocaust Museum. From there, they walked about one mile to the City Hall where they listened to three Holocaust survivors talking about daily life in the concentration camps. March of Life initiator Jobst Bittner called upon the audience not to keep silent, as it had happened in Nazi Germany, but to stand by Israel and to raise their voices against injustice. During the evening event, Jobst Bittner presented the Holocaust survivors with a donation as a sign of appreciation for their life testimonies. The money had been raised by the members of TOS church in Germany. Jobst Bittner began his message by saying that he came from the country of unmerited grace. Even though he had dealt intensely with the Holocaust ever since he had become a believer, there could be no end to it as long as there were still people suffering from trauma and loss because of the Holocaust. Therefore he too pleaded for extending the March of Remembrance 2010 to other cities: Just like in Germany, cities in the US could connect with each other and place the shape of a Star of David on the nation as a spiritual seal and a confession of standing with Israel.
Ihre Spende für den Marsch des Lebens in Deutschland können Sie auf das folgende Konto überweisen:
TOS Dienste Deutschland e.V. ist wegen Förderung gemeinnütziger Zwecke durch Bescheinigung des Finanzamtes Leipzig II, St.Nr. 231/141/07751 vom 01.10.2008 für die Jahre 2004, 2005 und 2006 nach §5 Abs. 1 Nr.9 KStG von der Körperschaftsteuer befreit.