Many Hungarian Jews to join March of the Living in 2014

Every country was touched in some way by the actions of the Nazis and World War II.

This year, March of the Living – an annual educational program that brings students from all over the world to Poland to study the history of the Holocaust and examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate – will mark 70 years since the mass deportation and extensive destruction of Hungarian Jewry.

Deportations to the gas chambers at Aushwitz-Birkenau commenced on April 29, 1944, and concluded July 11, 1944. When a final count was taken of the estimated 800,000 Hungarian Jews alive at the start of 1944, only approximately one-fourth remained alive.

Hungary and the Roma have been in the news quite a bit in recent months, as a poll placed Hungary among the most anti-Semitic countries in all of Europe.

At the World Jewish Congress plenary in Budapest last May, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared that his government is committed to quashing anti-Semitism in all forms, calling it "unacceptable and intolerable."

Organizers of the March of the Living will be inviting leading Jewish figures of Hungarian descent, both political and non-political, to participate in key ceremonies and events tentatively scheduled for April 23 to May 8.

If you're between the ages of 21 and 35, you can submit an application to attend by clicking here.