Reporting From Auschwitz: Israel's Holocaust Legacy Mirrored In Attacks By Iran | TBN Israel

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[00:00:00]This Holocaust Memorial Day sounds different in Israel. The same siren that brings an entire nation to a halt does not rise only over the memory of the past, but over a war that is still not over. As Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, Iran is still trying to keep a ring of fire around us. Through Lebanon, through terrorist organizations in Gaza, through proxies, through missiles, drones, and that same old ambition that has never disappeared, to see the Jewish state break. And at this very moment, while the fighting in southern Lebanon is still burning and the talks surrounding Iran and Lebanon are still hanging in the air, the question is not only what Iran wants, but whether the system it spent years building is now beginning to come apart.

[00:00:53]I'm Mati Shosani and this is your ground report. The episode you're about to watch was filmed at an earlier stage of the war, but especially now, it carries even sharper meaning because what began with a massacre carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization long ago became something much bigger. A war over Iran's ability to surround Israel with fire, to wear down from within, and to force us to live under constant threat. This is not the story of one border. It is not the story of one organization. It is the story of an entire project that tan built patiently layer by layer believing that one day all the fronts would close in on us all at once. And that may be the heart of the story on a day like this. Holocaust remembrance day is not only a look back at what was done to us then when the Jewish people had no power and no shield. It is also a sober look at the present. Because even today there's a regime that speaks openly in the language of destruction. Even today there's an axis that built terror missiles and proxies in order to wound Israel from every direction. And even today there are those in the world who prefer to speak about balance, restraint and delay instead of looking directly at the enemy's intentions. This is why this episode doesn't return to the past only in order to remember. and returns to it in order to understand the present more clearly. Because without understanding the idea we're fighting against, it's impossible to understand why Israel must not lose.

[00:02:38]>> When we hear Iranian leader threatening the state of Israel, we believe them.

[00:02:44]>> Israel, let's go. Let's go.

[00:02:46]>> Israel is a terrorist. When you see a group, and in this case it's Jewish students, being targeted on a campus, the right thing to do is to stand up and tell people that this is not an acceptable behavior.

[00:03:02]>> I want to be the best uh advocate that I can be uh in support of my Jewish brothers and sisters.

[00:03:11]They butchered, they killed, they burned our children, our mothers, our beloved.

[00:03:23]For more than three decades, the March of the Living has brought thousands of people from across the globe to Poland to the place where the world once watched Jewish people led to their deaths. The Ashwitz Birkin death camp, the largest killing center of the Nazi genocide. It is a pilgrimage of remembrance and a declaration of survival. But last year's march carried a weight never felt before. As Israel reeled from the massacre of October 7th, the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, and as hostages remained in captivity, the march unfolded against a backdrop that made history feel terrifyingly present.

[00:04:05]In late April 2025, I traveled there myself. Israel was a year and a half into the war, still facing Iran's ring of fire from Hamas in Gaza, the in the north, the Houthis in Yemen, and other proxy forces pushing violence towards our borders. Soldiers were still on the front lines. Civilians were still living under fire. Families were still praying for the return of their loved ones.

[00:04:31]hostages held in Gaza with no certainty of when or if they would come home. Our nation was still fighting for its very right to live. In that reality, we marched and the cry never again had never felt louder or more urgent.

[00:04:58]We're on the press bus traveling to Ashwitz and then Beer Canal. This is my first time here and I feel like it's a very weird emotional place to be. It's something incredibly sad that we need to connect with as we're heading into the International Holocaust Day and at the same time the incredibly positive outcome, the victory of life. And I think that's especially emphasized in light of October 7th, the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people trying to kill us. It wasn't relevant just 80 years ago. It still remains relevant today. And if October 7th has reminded us anything, it's exactly that one that people continue to hate on uh and despise the Jewish people in the same time that God has been faithful to the Jewish people time and time again.

[00:05:56]We just walked in the gates of Oshwitz.

[00:06:00]It's the famous image that I think anyone who's seen an image of this place has seen. Labor makes free. I think it's Albert Mre. You see that on the sign and that's a very cynical I guess joke uh on the gate to the camp where people were starved and worked to death and then many of them executed in nearby Bil Canal.

[00:06:23]This is a place I've heard stories about my entire life. Uh the level of violence, the level of killing that took place in this location over just a short amount of time, just several years. And I'm just taken aback personally by how docile, how calm, how neutral this place looks. It looks like, you know, something between a summer camp and a youth village. And yet this is the place where more than a million people were murdered by the Nazis and their aids.

[00:07:00]Arya Pinsker is a 96-year-old Holocaust survivor originally from Transennylvania.

[00:07:07]>> Me as a kid with my father, my mother, we were nine children. Only three of us survived. Six were murdered. My father, my mother, and six of the younger ones murdered right when they arrived at camp 2.

[00:07:24]>> Here, >> not here in Burkanau. Burkanau was an extermination camp. Here was a concentration camp. They killed here too. It was terrible to be here too. But there they only exterminated people.

[00:07:37]That's what they built that camp for, only for extermination.

[00:07:42]What helped me and others who stayed alive was having the strength to shut the memories out, lock them away in your mind.

[00:07:51]Like you never had parents, no father, no mother, no brothers, none of that.

[00:07:58]That's what helped me survive.

[00:08:01]Because after being here in an experiment among a thousand children, only six of us made it out alive.

[00:08:09]When the Americans liberated us on the 5th of May, 1945, I was already almost almost dead.

[00:08:24]Elan, you're standing here. You're a lieutenant colonel and the Israeli army.

[00:08:29]You went back to volunteer now in in this last war. How do you feel standing here in Ashwitz in a place that tried to murder your father and his your father's family uh in uniform together with him?

[00:08:41]Uh what does it feel like?

[00:08:43]>> I'm very proud to be here with him. I think that's the most symbol of v victory of the Jewish people that I'm with him with Israeli army uniform. Yes, I'm very proud to be Tomorrow is a big day, but while I'm here, I need to visit Poland's past.

[00:09:09]Before World War II, Poland was home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, about 3.3 million Jews. I'm heading to Krakow, one of the historic centers of Jewish life in Poland. It's about an hour drive from Ashwitz. In 1939, as the Germans are rolling into Poland, this place where we're standing, which is the Jewish quarter in Krakow, uh was full of a vibrant and strong Jewish community.

[00:09:37]But today, as we stand here 80 years later, there is no Jewish community. And in fact, there are no Jews in this area.

[00:09:42]And the reason is because here, like many other places in Europe, the Germans destroyed the majority of that Jewish population. The events of the Holocaust and the many many cases of anti-semitism and violence related to anti-semitism that have followed in their tale prove one very clear thing that for the Jewish people to prosper and survive they need to be strong and they need a country of their own. We have the ancient Jewish synagogue behind me. That is a relic that's been standing there for 80 years since the Jewish community of Krakow was removed from this part of the world. Now right next to them are the hostages.

[00:10:16]some of them dead, some of them alive, of the vicious attack of October 7th, 2023. And both of those live in the same reality. A reality in which the hateful rhetoric of anti-semitism leads to death and violence and destruction. And a reality in which unless we stand up against it, actively fight that rhetoric, fight that sentiment, fight that lie that is both diabolical and false in its nature, we come back to the same point. a point of death, a point of destruction, a point of a synagogue that sits without the Jewish community that was supposed to surround it.

[00:10:55]We're once again living in a reality where people around the world are allowing themselves to use anti-semitic rhetoric. They're allowing themselves to blame Jewish neighbors and friends for the events that take place around them.

[00:11:08]And once again, we are all called to speak up against that rhetoric, against that language, and point out what is true. And as we're marking the events of the International Holocaust Day, and remembering the events of October 7th, 2023, we need to stay vigilant in making sure that this type of language and violence never comes back into this world.

[00:11:33]Standing up for the truth has never been more crucial. Telling the story of the Jewish people, of Israel, and of the history as it really happened matters now more than ever. So guys, like, share, and subscribe to this channel.

[00:11:48]Your support helps ensure that atrocities like these are never forgotten and never happen again.

[00:12:03]It's now the second time we're traveling to Ashwa. Now, day two of this trip, yesterday we got to see the camp. Today, we're doing something different. Us and I I can't even think how many hundreds of other buses, probably 12, 13,000 people are all traveling to Ashwitz to march from there to Ber Canal.

[00:12:23]Bir Canal is Ashwitz 2, the destruction camps.

[00:12:27]Ashwitz 2 at at at peak is taking train loads of people every day and over 90% of them are being killed. that same day.

[00:12:36]Many of them within less than an hour of arriving at the death camp.

[00:12:42]A death machine at a scale that I can't think of anywhere else in the world they did something like this.

[00:12:49]And as we mark 80 years to the true liberation of this camp, I'm honored to be here to bear witness and to walk this path with them.

[00:12:59]This year among us are parents whose children are still being held captive in the dark tunnels of Gaza. Survivors who were kidnapped and tortured by Hamas for an unfathomable stretch of time.

[00:13:11]Families who lost loved ones in the massacre of October 7th. And Holocaust survivors along with their descendants who are now mourning children, siblings, and grandchildren who have been stolen or murdered in our own time. The weight of history and the pain of the present are walking side by side. The March of the Living is about to start. You have the president of Poland, the president of Israel, countless other dignitaries from around the world. We've seen American police and uh military personnel and countless other organizations that are here. You have Polish children and high school students, over 30 ambassadors uh from the UN that have come here. I even talked with uh Pastor Hegy that's part of this march. There's a lot of people that are showing love, support, and effort to combat anti-semitism and stand with everything this march represents.

[00:14:05]Among the ambassadors marching with us today are Ambassador Danni Danon of Israel and Ambassador Celia Aen of South Sudan. Ambassador Danon, we're standing here in Ashwitz. We're celebrating or marking 80 years to the end of World War II and the end of the Holocaust events.

[00:14:21]And I think this year more than ever, it's important for people to mark this.

[00:14:24]You've just brought a delegation of ambassadors from around the world. What is in your mindset is the most important thing to teach people around the world about what's happening here and why they need to know it.

[00:14:33]>> Well, we we must learn history and we must learn from history. When we say never again, we mean it. When we hear Iranian leaders threatening the state of Israel, we believe them. Today, we have the capability to defend ourselves. We have our own country, our own military.

[00:14:50]But you know, 80 years ago, the Jews who were here in Oshitz, no one was there to protect them. Today, we have the IDF and we will do whatever necessary to protect the country of Israel.

[00:15:01]We have friends who support us, who pray for us. We know that, we appreciate that. We are not alone. We learned the lessons from the Holocaust.

[00:15:11]>> Cecilia. Yes.

[00:15:12]>> Yes.

[00:15:12]>> You're the ambass ambassador for South Sudan. Is this your first time in Ashwitz? my first start.

[00:15:16]>> What has been your experience and what were you expecting to learn when you came here?

[00:15:20]>> My experience has been um overtaken by what I was expecting here.

[00:15:28]>> I think entering Warsaw, I got goosebumps.

[00:15:33]There's a lot of videos that I saw yesterday at the event and I was just shocked by it that you could have so many ways of killing the same people just to get rid of them. the Israelis uh and especially for us in South Sudan.

[00:15:47]They're very dear to us. We fought the same fight, the same fight that Israel is fighting. Of course, we're fighting the jihadism is something that we know too well in South Sudan. We are very close in feelings and understanding with the Israeli population have >> behind me in the background is Alishabi.

[00:16:10]Anishabi is a very well-known hostage that was released a few months ago. He spent over 500 days in Hamas captivity.

[00:16:18]He's here giving a statement tying the connection between the Holocaust and how the Nazis tried to destroy us to what he experienced with Hamas of Hamas trying to destroy the Jewish people and himself included.

[00:16:33]And him coming here is a sign and testament to the resilience of the Jewish people, the ability to come out of an incredibly difficult and painful situation.

[00:16:55]All the representatives gathered here today since October 7th. Representatives of berieved families, representatives of the hostages.

[00:17:05]We are the hostages.

[00:17:08]This is a victory of the Jewish spirit.

[00:17:10]The Jewish people and the people of Israel in particular. We will choose life and not death.

[00:17:18]This is a very special moment. Right now behind me you have several Holocaust survivors of the grandparents of of their grandkids who are still held in kamas captivity and all of them are standing in front of the one of the crematoriums here in Oshvitz. You might be asking what a crematorium is.

[00:17:37]Crematorium means the place where bodies were burnt. Uh and we've been told over the last couple days that at the peak of it between Ashwitz and Birkinau, where we're going to walk in a bit, uh they were burning more than 5,000 bodies per day. So this was a death machine at its peak under the Nazi regime. And we're here with these people, freed hostages, freed Holocaust survivors, uh to proclaim life rather than death and destruction that this place tried to bring into the world.

[00:18:12]I want my grandson home as soon as possible.

[00:18:18]What he is going through right now, it's nearly the identical experience that the survivors of the Holocaust endured. I am asking everyone, every single one of you, please bring back all 59 hostages and bring them back as fast as possible.

[00:18:59]They said is the people of Israel live regardless of what happened to them and what people are trying to do them to them. And more than that, I think you just see the emotional charge that's here. There's barely a dry eye in the crowd.

[00:19:14]>> Hello, my name is Shy Vanc. I'm the father of Omar that was brutally kidnapped by the kamas terrorist on the 7th of October at the morning. Omar went only to the Nova fest to bring his happiness to dance and to be free.

[00:19:33]Unfortunately there was a massacre at that time 628 was a massacre by the kamas. There was attack all the area.

[00:19:47]They butchered, they killed, they burned our children, our mothers, our beloved.

[00:19:56]The massacre was in Israel, in our homeland, in our base. Now we are standing in Avitz.

[00:20:07]18 years ago, there was a holocaust. My mother, she is a survivor of the Holocaust.

[00:20:14]We said no more and no more again. We have to promise ourself that we'll be strong and the fighting will be for our humanity.

[00:20:47]We begin the 3 kmter march of the living. In 1944, it was a death march.

[00:20:52]Today, it's an anthem of footsteps, thousands of young voices, dozens of nations, one declaration. Jewish life will never wait for permission. And on January 27th, 1945, the Soviet troops liberated Ashwitz. Over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered here.

[00:21:11]Those who survived arrived in a newborn Israel with nothing but hope. In less than a decade, they helped build farms, factories, universities, and a democracy that still stands. Their answer to darkness was creation. And let's remember that as we face our own trials today.

[00:21:33]So, M Michael, what brings you here? Um, I'm the educator with a group of uh American and European university presidents who we've brought on this program to help them understand what anti-semitism is about.

[00:21:47]>> Okay.

[00:21:48]>> What the sort of ultimate act of anti-semitism can end with and really helping them deal with the increase in anti-semitism that many of them are facing on their campuses.

[00:21:56]>> Are you here with students or is the faculty mostly? They're actually presidents, chancellors, and provost of universities. So, we wanted to bring people from the highest levels because we feel that they have the ability to influence their entire institution with what they learn. 5 6 7 8 >> 5 6 7 8 >> Israel is a terrorist group.

[00:22:18]>> Israel is a terrorist.

[00:22:23]>> They will make your life.

[00:22:25]when you see a group and in this case it's Jewish students being targeted on a campus and even if the conflict is not something that you sort of think that much about the right thing to do is to stand up and tell people that this is not an acceptable behavior and I hope that universities which are breeding our future leaders >> um will deliver this message that while the university is a place of learning and a place of free thought and exploring ideas. There are clear lines between what's right and what's not right. And when you see injustice in the world, you need to stand up even if that injustice is not directed at you.

[00:23:05]>> Well said. You should consider a career in the field of education against anti-semitism.

[00:23:10]>> You think you think >> if you can see this behind me, how many people are here? There's like a incredible number of people. I think it's 12 or 13,000 people.

[00:23:27]>> For me, it's been a very emotional couple days. It's really connecting with this unbelievable story that we're taking part of.

[00:23:37]>> Lori, >> yes, it is.

[00:23:38]>> Where are you from?

[00:23:39]>> I am I live in Greencastle, Indiana. I'm president of Depal University. I am not from Jewish background. I came on the trip because I love history. Uh I have always wanted to understand more about uh what happened during World War II to our Jewish brothers and sisters. And uh given all that is going on right now in the United States, um I want to be the best uh advocate that I can be uh in support of my Jewish brothers and sisters.

[00:24:20]We just arrived at Bilano. These are the train tracks that brought in multitudes of Jews, a total of over a million people to their death in this death camp over here.

[00:24:32]As the march came to a close, we gathered for the final ceremony, standing on the very ground where the machinery of evil once worked at full speed. and where 80 years ago the world finally began to shut that hell down.

[00:24:48]Then came a moment I'll never forget. A Gambill stood before us, an Israeli soldier who was only 19 years old when she was abducted by kamas from her army base on October 7th, 2023. She had only been serving in her post for a day when she was dragged with 250 hostages into a new hell hole, Gaza.

[00:25:12]After 482 days in captivity, she was finally brought home after everything she had endured. Aam raised her violin, a 130-year-old instrument that once belonged to a Jewish musician murdered in the Holocaust, restored and placed back into living hands.

[00:25:47]as the slow, somber strains of Aam's violin filled the air. Tears fell all around us. Then the sky opened. A torrential storm swept over the ceremony. So intense it cut the event short, as if the heavens themselves were pouring out what we couldn't say. It felt like sorrow being washed clean, like a reminder that God's power is still here, even in places where it once felt absent. And even as we scattered throughout the rain, I felt strangely full, anchored by faith, convinced that somehow even this was as it should be.

[00:26:23]Since that day, the nation has witnessed profound moments of redemption. Hostages have come home and we have stood firm against the threats of Hamas, ofah, and Iran. And for now, we live in a moment of victory. But history teaches us that being a Jew and an Israeli often comes with a weight of anti-semitism and hatred. Yet we believe in a faithful God who stands with us through every trial, who calls us to remember, to rise, and to build a future where such atrocities never repeat.

[00:27:02]Hello, this is Mati here in Jerusalem with TBN Israel.

[00:27:05]>> This is Yayop Pinto from TBN Israel here in Jerusalem. TBN Israel is keeping viewers informed with Israel focused news, culture, and what God is doing in this land.

[00:27:17]>> Support TBN Israel today online at tbn.org/israel.

[00:27:21]Thank you.