First Kosher Concession Stand Opens at Auschwitz Jewish Center

In a poignant and practical move, the Auschwitz Jewish Center is opening its first-ever kosher concession stand just in time for this year’s March of the Living. Beginning April 23, kosher-observant visitors will be able to access packaged, shelf-stable kosher meals just a mile from the grounds where over a million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

This initiative is more than a culinary convenience; it’s a powerful step in restoring Jewish presence and dignity in a town once known as Oświęcim, a thriving Jewish community before the Nazis turned it into Auschwitz. Before the war, Jews made up over half the town's population, with more than 30 synagogues, kosher bakeries, and butchers serving the community.

Now, the Jewish Center located in the only synagogue in the area to survive the Nazi onslaught has welcomed more than 800,000 visitors. Yet until now, kosher-keeping guests had to bring their own meals or make complicated catering arrangements. That changes this month.

“Opening the city’s first post-war kosher concession was a natural step,” said Simon Bergson, Chairman of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation. “Visitors can now reflect, pray, and eat in a way that honors their heritage and religious needs.”

The opening coincides with the annual March of the Living on April 24, which brings thousands to walk the solemn path from Auschwitz to Birkenau in remembrance of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year’s march will be led by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Polish President Andrzej Duda, along with 80 Holocaust survivors and their multigenerational families children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who embody the continuity and vitality of the Jewish people.

Aliza Vitis-Shomron, one of the last surviving fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, expressed the profound significance of the event. “We survived the inferno, the valley of death, and we built families who will march with us. We bring pride to the State of Israel.”

President Herzog's presence adds deep resonance, as his family’s legacy is intertwined with Holocaust history. His father, Chaim Herzog, helped liberate Bergen-Belsen as a British Army officer. His grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Halevi Herzog, devoted himself to rescuing Jewish survivors across post-war Europe.

As Jewish life quietly but powerfully reclaims its space in places of former tragedy, this kosher stand stands as both symbol and service nourishing those who come not only to remember, but to affirm life, heritage, and unbroken Jewish identity.

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