Eva Clarke, a Holocaust survivor born in the Mauthausen concentration camp in 1945, met with Merrill Eisenhower, great-grandson of President Dwight Eisenhower, at an event in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
The gathering, which was facilitated by the International March of the Living, marked the beginning of a collaboration between the Holocaust remembrance NGO and the Eisenhower family, it said in a press release.
Clarke—who was born just days before Mauthausen was liberated by U.S. forces led by Eisenhower—was said to have expressed her gratitude.
“I am the infant your great-grandfather and the American soldiers saved,” Clarke told Merrill Eisenhower, adding: “Had they not arrived in time, I would not be standing here today.”
As part of the new partnership with the Eisenhower family, Merrill Eisenhower announced that he would participate in the 2025 March of the Living and walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah)—set to be marked on April 23-24.
Eisenhower will march alongside Clarke and thousands of participants from around the world, honoring both the victims of the Holocaust and the heroism of those who fought to end the tyranny of Nazi Germany.
Merrill Eisenhower during Wednesday’s event stressed his commitment to preserving his great-grandfather’s legacy. “General Eisenhower ensured that the world would never forget the atrocities committed by the Nazis,” he said. “To walk in the March of the Living is both an honor and a duty. We must continue to share survivors’ stories, combat Holocaust denial, and stand against antisemitism.”
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter also addressed the event, which was co-hosted by philanthropists Josh and Marjorie Harris and attended by leading figures from the Jewish community and beyond.
The 2025 March of the Living will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the death camps. The NGO has launched a campaign to support survivors in attending the march in Poland, emphasizing that this may be one of the last opportunities for young participants to walk alongside them and hear their first hand testimonies.