Colonel Patrick Callahan and Lieutenant Colonel Sean Kilcomons along with Paul Goldenberg and Mark Genatempo from the Rutgers University Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience, went to Poland for the annual March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau, which remembers the millions of victims of the Holocaust. They were part of the first international delegation of law enforcement to take part in the walk. Also participating in the walk were New Jersey State Police Chaplain Rabbi Yosef Carlebach and Port Authority Police Chaplain Rabbi Mendy Carlebach. Colonel Callahan and Lt. Colonel Kilcomons also held meetings with Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Police Major General Paweł Dobrodziej and Director of International Police Cooperation Bureau Colonel Paulina Filipowiak of the Polish National Police.
Colonel Callahan and LTC Kilcomons also marched in honor of Holocaust survivor Edward Mosberg, a dear friend of the State Police who passed away in September of 2022. In June of 2019, Mr. Mosberg met with the 159th State Police Academy Class during their training in Sea Girt where he had an opportunity to share the horrors he witnessed while living as a child in numerous Nazi concentration camps. His message was not simply a lesson about the Holocaust, but a lesson about perseverance and strength. Mr. Mosberg’s impactful presentation left a lasting impression on the recruits and the academy staff as well.
“I could not be more honored and humbled to have represented America’s law enforcement at this year’s March of the Living in Poland,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.” He added, “Both at home and around the globe, we must all recognize the hate which fueled the Holocaust which still impacts all of humanity each and every day. Law enforcement’s complicity during the Holocaust must also never be forgotten to ensure that our roles as guardians and peacemakers never contribute to such darkness ever again but that we are to serve as beacons of light and hope for all.”
