The statistics are staggering.
Two thirds of American millennial's can’t identify exactly what Auschwitz is.
Nearly a quarter say they’ve never heard of it.
And yet — the Nazi German death camp was responsible for the deaths of more than a
million people, most of them, Jews.
It’s not ancient history — the Holocaust only ended 73 years ago, just a couple generations.
There are still people alive today who are survivors or perpetrators.
Yet — according to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany — 70% of
people believe fewer people care about the Holocaust than they used to.
These numbers have meaning.
"The first step of another tragedy happening is forgetting something that happened in the past."
Before the Holocaust — there were roughly 16.6 million Jews in the world.
Six million, or nearly one third, were murdered.
Today, the number of Jews is climbing back to those pre-war levels, about 14 million
today.
But experts say — had the Holocaust never happened— as many as 32 million Jews could
be alive today.
So for those left, it's a history that must be passed on.
"It's important to me to hear the survivors stories — to make sure my children know
that this was a real occurrence, that I met these people who went through these horrors."
And survivors know they don’t have much time to tell them.
That’s why many survivors and teens choose to go on March of the Living, together.
"It's a duty.
There's a need to go and understand the shared history that we have."
The trip first brings them to Poland to witness the horrors of the Holocaust.
"I felt a part of people and like I was doing something for my people."
They visit concentration camps and march with 15,000 people from Auschwitz to Birkenau.
"This has been a tough week."
They learn what life was like before, during and just after the Holocaust.
"We have heard about families being pulled apart.
We are the lucky ones.
You are loved."
They see the past, linked with the future.
The focus for survivors like Irving Roth is almost
equally on remembering as it is prevention.
"You got Judaism by osmosis 100 years ago.
You don't do it by osmosis.
You see this bubble covered, and underneath it, are tons of ashes of human beings.
It becomes real.
It's a visceral experience.
And I think it's important to have that feeling.
This gets into your soul.
From then on when you see evil and you understand the step by step process of how the Holocaust
came to be, you can look at anything happening in the world. You begin to understand.
That's a sign post along the path to Auschwitz."
Roth is concerned this could happen again.
And he’s not alone.
The same survey found 58% of people think this could happen again — this time on U.S.
soil.
More than half say there are “many” Neo-Nazis in America.
He hopes he teaches those he’s around about personal ownership in these situations.
"Say something.
Do it in school.
In the mall.
If it's happening halfway around the world it's still our responsibility."