A Broward delegation will be part of the March of the Living which will next take place in the spring of 2010 and has long been an integral component of the Orloff Central Agency for Jewish Education. And, the march will continue to get local funding thanks to a program-based allocation from the Jewish Federation of Broward County.

Those teens taking part in the next march – registration begins on May 1 of this year – will visit Poland before flying off to Israel, and will surely experience a study in contrasts. In Poland, the teens will discover that of all the hundreds of Jewish schools, synagogues and institutions that existed in Poland’s largest city, Warsaw, before World War II, few actually remain. In fact, one synagogue, and a centuries-old Jewish cemetery that was left relatively untouched by the Nazis during their occupation of the city are among the only intact Jewish structures remaining after the war.

At the same time, the teens – as well as the Holocaust survivors who will be accompanying them on the trip – will learn about the resurgence of Jewish culture in Poland, with new synagogues, schools, organizations, and youth groups now emerging.

Rochelle Baltuch, Orloff CAJE’s Assistant Executive Director and the Broward County director of the March of the Living, noted that the march – which teaches about the affirmation and continuity of Jewish life in a place so associated with death, “makes a tremendous impact on all the participants.”

“Being in Poland with the Holocaust survivors, and participating with thousands of people on Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), while walking from Auschwitz to Birkenau, will be forever etched in their memories,” Baltuch said.

Orloff CAJE Executive Director Dr. Moshe Papo said he was especially thankful to Federation for “continuing to help the Orloff CAJE by providing a generous program-based allocation for the March of the Living that allows us to carry out the program for our community.”

Papo stressed that the march “not only enhances the participants’ knowledge of the Holocaust, but helps reinforce a Jewish identity.”

“It is a very powerful experience,” Papo said, “and it is a lasting experience for anyone who takes part.”