Opinion | 80 years later: Jewish remembrance, resilience, and strength

Following his attendance at the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, JDA and Executive Committee member, Dan Alpert, wrote a reflection on his experience.

Surrounded by the faint and vanishing Hebrew script on the walls of the historic Kupa Synagogue in Krakow, Poland, the Rabbi began to sing a joyous song with Jews gathered from around the world—a song so reminiscent of Jewish life throughout the years.  

Kol ha’olam kulo gesher tzar me’od, veha’ikar lo le’fached klal.  

All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be overwhelmed by fear. 

In Krakow for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, world leaders, including President Zelenskyy, King Charles III, Prime Minister Trudeau, President Macron, President Mattarella, and many more, joined to commemorate the solemn occasion. Sadly, as the years between the Holocaust and today grow in number, this milestone year may be one of the last commemorations with survivors present.  

A delegation of the World Jewish Congress joined with members of the Krakow Jewish community for Shabbat in honor of the 80th anniversary commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. We sang songs of joy for the Jewish community—including the aforementioned words. 

The collection of voices singing this song with pride was a reminder that even during this somber occasion of remembrance, and the ongoing rise of antisemitism, communal voices are stronger together. 

Our delegation listened to a Holocaust survivor share about her struggle for freedom. Her resilience in the face of hate and eventual liberation was emotional and a reminder of the struggles survivors endured.  

We heard more accounts of heroism and strength at a dinner hosted by WJC President Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation before joining over 2,000 individuals from around the world the following day for the official commemoration ceremony.  

Most notable at the commemoration was the presence of survivors, many of whom were children during the Holocaust—children and young adults who worked to rebuild their own Jewish life and community following the persecution they faced. The survivors shared their accounts of strength and resilience, not just during the horrors of the Holocaust, but after as well. These survivors’ work to support Jewish life has enabled the growth of Jewish communities across Europe that is evident today—communities that continue to grow because of the persistence of Jewish leaders to ensure a stronger Jewish future. 

I witnessed this resilience firsthand while living in Budapest, Hungary, and visiting many Jewish communities throughout Central and Eastern Europe. For two years, I worked for the Jewish Community Center of Budapest and had the chance to meet with communities in the region that were devastated by the back-to-back tragedies of the Holocaust and communist religious repression. Even today, many find it hard to believe that Jewish life exists in this region. 

Yet, even as the survivors walked along the narrow bridge of rebuilding Jewish life, these re-established communities looked fear in the eye and knew that the best way forward was to build their communities from within—with strength. 

Today, strong Jewish youth groups operate in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Krakow, Poland. The Jewish community in Chisinau, Moldova, has created a strong volunteer network. Jews in Ljubljana, Slovenia, celebrate their Jewish culture through theater and the arts. Meanwhile, Jewish youth and families have unique camping experiences in the Baltics. In Budapest, many Jewish organizations are responding to various community needs in the third-largest Jewish community in mainland Europe. Throughout various countries, affiliates of the European Union of Jewish Students host programs and opportunities for Jewish young professionals to embrace, advocate, and uphold the future of Jewish life.  

These Jewish organizations are some of the countless examples of communal strength. Particularly astonishing is how these communities show strength even as many of them have seen hate rise since the horrific October 7 attack in Israel. These communities—once again looking fear in the face—work together to counter the rise in antisemitism.  

During the official commemoration ceremony, many speakers highlighted the fact that antisemitism is once again on the rise. Yet, a Holocaust survivor shared a familiar message and song that our group had sung just a few nights prior: 

Kol ha’olam kulo gesher tzar me’od, veha’ikar lo le’fached klal.  

All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be overwhelmed by fear. 

The reminder from survivors that antisemitism is on the rise is a needed wake-up call from those who know how antisemitism presents itself. However, through these survivors, we know we must remember that we too have the strength not to fear this narrow bridge of potential despair.  

Instead, we each must play a role — big or small — to uplift our communities, bring people together, and counter the hate we see. By joining local efforts to counter antisemitism or by joining organizations working with governments to create national strategies to counter this vile form of hate, each of us can and should play a role in continuing the work to rebuild Jewish life set out by those who suffered the worst. Through our communal voices of strength, we can make a difference. 

The whole world may be a narrow bridge, but we have nothing to fear. 

Dan Alpert serves on the World Jewish Congress Executive Committee and is also the founding Executive Director of Friends of JCC Budapest, an organization that supports Jewish life in Hungary.