By JEFF LIPTON
The 16-year-old and eight other girls from Long Island are taking part in a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe and then Israel to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day, as well as the anniversary of the state of Israel.
They are joining more than 8,000 students from around the world who will take part in the historic event on Thursday, retracing the steps of the "March of Death," the three-kilometer walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built by the Nazis during World War II. Countless victims of the Holocaust took the walk to gas chambers at Birkenau, and in tribute to them the marchers will reenact the trek, in what has been dubbed "March of the Living."
In addition to Frankel, also taking part in the trip are Jill Berkowitz, Dana Goldstein and Alyssa Langenthal, all of East Meadow, Sarah Hisiger of Oceanside, Stacey Weinberg of Island Park and Marin Shapiro of Lido Beach. The girls are all from the Nassau-Suffolk B'nai Brith Youth Organization (BBYO), which sponsors the trip every other year.
For Frankel, the march holds special significance because her grandparents and great-grandmother were Holocaust survivors. She said her great-grandmother, before she passed away, wrote her thoughts down about her concentration camp experience and Frankel read it.
"It was just amazing," she said. "The Holocaust should never be forgotten and we want to teach other people that, too.
"I thought this would be a really good experience for me," she added. "It will be such an amazing thing to see so many people coming together [during the march]."
More than 50,000 participants are expected during the "March of the Living," organizers said.
The girls left New York bound for Poland on Monday, and after about a week the teens will then fly to Israel, where they will help celebrate Israel's 60th Independence Day on May 8.
"I think this will be an amazing opportunity for us to go on this trip," said Hisiger, 16, a student at Oceanside High School.
She said it's important to remember what happened to 6 million Jews who were exterminated by the Nazis and to further silence those who deny the Holocaust ever took place.
"Obviously, it's going to be an extremely emotional trip," she said. She added that she was worried about missing two weeks of school when she would be preparing for AP exams, but like Frankel, she believes what she
will experience during the march is something that can't be taught in school.
"I think it's going to be a life-changing experience for her," said Hisiger's mother Ellen.
Marsha Shapiro of Lido Beach, said her daughter Marin is going on the trip, in large part to honor family members who perished during the Holocaust.
"I am so proud that Marin chose to participate in this extraordinary event," she said. She said Marin's grandparents, Helen and Willie Abraham, are Holocaust survivors, and her grandmother survived the war by working as a slave laborer in a German munitions factory with fake papers stating that she was Christian. At the age of 20, Marin's grandfather was on a death march originating from the Matthausen Concentration Camp. "Marin will retrace his steps to honor him, her grandmother and our family that perished in the Holocaust," she said.
"Being very active in the Jewish community, I think it's very important to remind myself of the Jewish history and heritage," said Berkowitz, 17, a junior at East Meadow High School and incoming president of the BBYO. "I thought it was my turn to go this year and there was no way anyone was going to hold me back.
"It's a lot of money and a lot of time, but what I will experience over the two weeks will be much more valuable," she said.
Fran Haskell, regional director of the Nassau-Suffolk BBYO, said the girls are making a huge commitment both academically and financially. In addition to missing two weeks of school, the trip costs more than $4,000 per student. She added that to qualify the girls had to write an essay and also were interviewed to determine if they were emotionally ready for the trip.
"We had to know if they would be emotionally able to handle it," said Haskell. "They will be standing in a crematorium and gas chamber. We have many kids who are going who only read about it."
Haskell said the trip is important "in light of what's going on in Darfur with genocide and all over the world. It gives you a sense of history. We can never forget what happened in the Holocaust," she said.
Comments about this story? Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
