The experience of visiting Auschwitz has inspired rapper Meek Mill to take a stand against antisemitism. The Grammy-nominated recording artist went to Poland to take part in the March of the Living on April 18. The event covered two miles from Auschwitz to Birkenau. Every year, people from all over the world come to march and honor the victims of the Holocaust.
During World War II, Nazi Germany killed more than a million people, mostly Jews, in the Auschwitz concentration camps.
The rapper visited Auschwitz with his friend Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots. Kraft recently started the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. The organization aims to combat hatred and bigotry towards Jewish people through education, community outreach, and advocacy efforts. The group has recently launched a $25 million national campaign called #StandUpToJewishHate. The campaign includes paid TV ads that tell stories of antisemitic acts in the US.
“I always stand on anything that condemns racism, but now that I had an education, I’ll definitely spread the word to people in my culture about what I’ve seen and what I felt at that concentration camp today,” Mill told CNN.
Mill explained that he went to Auschwitz to “see this for myself and learn about it for myself.” He also said that he saw “terror, pain, and something you can’t really explain.”
Supporting Jewish Friends
According to Mill, the atrocities of the Holocaust left a deep impact on him. He believed that it was important to stand in solidarity with marginalized communities. He also acknowledged that Kraft, his Jewish friend, needed support during such difficult times.
“I think it’s also important for me to support Robert, all my Jewish friends, everyone that always supported me. Robert supported me at a very high level. When I was going through what I was going through, he learned my lifestyle. He learned my cultures, where I come from, my background.”
Kraft worked to get Meek Mill out of prison in 2018. At age 19, Mill was sentenced to two to four years in prison for gun and drug charges. Since then, Mill has become an advocate for criminal justice reform. Also, he has worked to raise awareness about the issues facing incarcerated people.
Kraft, for his part, praised Mill, calling him a caring person who works to build the bridge between Jews and people of color in America.
“He’s a sensitive man who has gone through some difficult situations where he wasn’t treated fairly. And I think for him to understand the culture of our people, what we’ve gone through and how many of the experiences are similar – where people, for no good reason, just stand up and hate,” Kraft stated.
According to Anti-Defamation League, antisemitism in the US has been on the rise since 2016, with a significant increase in incidents reported between 2019 and 2022.