Organized by the World Jewish Congress, the Shoah Foundation, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, the International Auschwitz Council, and the Polish Government, forty countries were represented including hundreds of survivors, each with a family member.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew led the U.S. Delegation, which included two survivors, one of whom was my mother. She appreciated the sensitivity shown by the members of the delegation to her and to Israel Arbeiter, the other survivor in the delegation.

My mother had an opportunity to spend time with Secretary Lew and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Stephen Mull, and was touched by their interest in her story.

I feel fortunate to have been able to attend with my mother. I am grateful to the World Jewish Congress for inviting survivors and their children to pay their respects at the camp, the "cemetery" for their family who were killed there. For many survivors, it may be their last opportunity to return.

Lesley Weiss