The March of Life in the Baltic States
The history of the March of Life in Baltic Countries: a memorial and reconciliation event at historical sites of the Holocaust in Europe. “For Zion’s sake, I will not be silent.” The descendants of German Nazi perpetrators find words that their fathers and grandfathers could not find. The first March of Life took place in Latvia on July 3-4, 2011, and in Lithuania on September 22-25, 2011.
Latvia
The first March of Life was organized in Latvia on July 3rd, 2011, in the City of Daugavpils. Jobst and Charlotte Bittner initiated the March of Life in Daugavpils with local Christian and Jewish community leaders and Jobst Bittner’s great team members of the descendants of German Nazi perpetrators. Some were descendants of German Wehrmacht soldiers or descendants of the SS and police force members. The descendants of the Nazi perpetrators were willing to reconcile and create healing for the wounds of the past and create restoration between descendants of the victims and perpetrators.
Local Christian leaders, pastors, church members, the Daugavpils Jewish community leaders, and many more participated in this First “Latvian March of Life” event. Almost all members of the local Jewish Community participated in this March of Life.
In Riga, the March of Life took place on July 4th, 2011, Jobst and Charlotte Bittner participated in the Memorial event “Dzīvo gājiens” with their German team of thirty members, who were descendants of German Nazi perpetrators, along with a few local Christians. This Memorial event was organized by the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum organizing the “Dzīvo gājiens” (Steps for Life), a memorial event dedicated to Holocaust commemoration in Riga.
This year, in 2022, we hope to join the March of Life so that many different local Christian Nominations will be represented in the event. At the same time, we hope to bring together strong local Christian participation and cooperation with local Jewish representatives, like the Jewish Association “Shamir” and the Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum, in organizing the March of Life and cooperating with the possible memorial event “Dzīvo gājiens” in Riga.
Lithuania
In Lithuania, the first March of Life took place in various cities. In Kaunas, the center of Lithuania, it was held September 22-23, 2011. Christian pastors in that city have welcomed the March of Life together with the Jewish community. On September 24-25, 2011, local Christian churches organized the March in the capital of Vilnius and other Lithuanian cities.
The second March of Life in Lithuania was a large event that took place in Vilnius on September 23rd, 2021, led by Lithuanian director Tadas Daujotas.
This year (2021) is the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust, which is being commemorated worldwide. To mark this painful anniversary, one of the most promising composers of the younger generation in Lithuania, Jievaras Jasinskis, and shofarist Tadas Daujotas, presented a bespoke music project, “Symphony from Jerusalem of the North”.
The second March of Life took place on The 23rd of September, which is a National Memorial Day for the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews. So, from 11 am to 2 pm, the March of Life event took place through the Vilnius ghetto to the railway station and on to Ponary by train, which is where the massacre took place. The initiator of March of Life, Jobst Bittner, and his team from Germany took part in this event in Vilnius. See pictures.
Here are the whole Symphony with speeches:
https://www.facebook.com/LRT.LT/videos/4526763117380694/
The importance of the project
The premiere concert of “Symphony from Jerusalem of the North” was held on September 23rd – the National Memorial Day for the Genocide of Lithuanian Jews.
This wonderful concert, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust, took place in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace, close to the Vilnius Ghetto. Invitations to this event were sent to many heads of state, foreign ambassadors, members of the Jewish community of Lithuania, the Righteous Among the Nations and their descendants, and other guests of honor. In addition, the concert was broadcast on national television.
Tadas Daujotas message:
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=uHb-TOq_YKY
https://donorbox.org/
symphony-from-jerusalem-of-the-north
Photos of the concert: