[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 167 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 167

    Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the United States Holocaust 
                            Memorial Museum.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 20, 2023

 Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Scott of South 
Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
                               agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the United States Holocaust 
                            Memorial Museum.

Whereas, on April 26, 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 
        (referred to in this preamble as the ``Museum'') opened to the public as 
        a permanent living memorial museum to the victims of the Holocaust, 
        following dedication ceremonies days earlier with the President of the 
        United States, the President of the State of Israel, the Chairman of the 
        Holocaust Memorial Council Harvey Meyerhoff, and 1986 Nobel Peace Prize 
        winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel;
Whereas, for 3 decades, the Museum has been teaching both the history of the 
        Holocaust and the lessons learned from the Holocaust, including lessons 
        about the fragility of democracy, the power of propaganda, and the 
        dangers of hatred, antisemitism, and inaction, to members of the public, 
        especially youth, from all walks of life, including members of 
        underserved communities;
Whereas the aim of the Museum's educational work is to promote self-reflection 
        and critical thinking about the roles and responsibilities of 
        individuals in the world today and catalyze actions to confront hatred, 
        prevent genocide, and promote human dignity;
Whereas, during its first 30 years, the Museum has welcomed over 47,000,000 
        visitors, including millions of schoolchildren and more than 100 heads 
        of state;
Whereas the Museum has enabled hundreds of Holocaust survivors to share their 
        experiences with tens of thousands of students and the public at the 
        Museum, online, and across the country;
Whereas the Museum has conducted its educational outreach in multiple ways, 
        having--

    (1) built the world's most comprehensive collection of Holocaust 
documentation and a state-of-the-art facility to preserve that collection 
and make it digitally accessible;

    (2) launched the world's leading online authority on the Holocaust, the 
20-language Holocaust Encyclopedia, which served 25,000,000 visitors in 
2022;

    (3) built a robust social media presence that has raised awareness of 
the Holocaust and related antisemitism and that in 2022 had 2,300,000 
followers, 306,000,000 views, and over 56,000,000 engagements;

    (4) created Experiencing History, the primary resource on the Holocaust 
for college and university instructors and their students across multiple 
disciplines on campuses nationwide;

    (5) created foundational guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust 
and served thousands of teachers nationwide with professional development 
trainings and classroom resources that emphasize the pivotal role of 
antisemitism in creating the environment that led to the Holocaust;

    (6) traveled exhibitions throughout the country on topics such as the 
``1936 Berlin Olympics'', ``Nazi racial science'', ``Nazi propaganda'', and 
``Americans and the Holocaust'';

    (7) sponsored programs for thousands of law enforcement agents, 
military personnel, and members of the judiciary to examine the roles of 
their counterparts during the Holocaust and reflect on their own roles 
today in preserving democracy;

    (8) supported development of the vital field of Holocaust studies, 
including the research and teachings of hundreds of scholars in the United 
States and abroad, and foundational publications like the ``The 
Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945''; and

    (9) opened the International Tracing Service Archives, which enables 
the Museum to provide thousands of survivors and their families with 
historic documentation pertaining to their individual wartime experiences;

Whereas the Museum has become a well-respected international resource, having--

    (1) worked with European Union officials and European governments in 
Eastern and Western Europe to advance policies and institutions devoted to 
preserving the memory and relevance of the Holocaust in perpetuity;

    (2) raised awareness of the Holocaust in parts of the Middle East and 
held the first Holocaust remembrance ceremonies in the United Arab Emirates 
and Egypt; and

    (3) helped establish the field of genocide prevention, becoming a 
resource for policymakers and raising public awareness of populations 
currently threatened by genocide and mass atrocities, such as the Uyghurs, 
Rohingya, and Yezidis;

Whereas, more than 75 years after the Holocaust, antisemitism continues to be 
        expressed publicly around the world through the proliferation of hate 
        speech, disinformation, and conspiracy theories that lead to hate crimes 
        and violence, both in the United States and abroad;
Whereas, in 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by consensus, a 
        resolution that condemns Holocaust denial and encourages the development 
        of programs meant to educate future generations on the horrors of the 
        Holocaust and antisemitism;
Whereas, on June 14, 2021, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution 
        unequivocally condemning the recent rise in antisemitic violence and 
        harassment targeting Jewish individuals in the United States and 
        standing in solidarity with those affected by antisemitism; and
Whereas the Museum aims to be a global leader in bringing awareness of the 
        Holocaust to audiences worldwide, promoting the relevance of the 
        Holocaust for new generations, building the field of Holocaust education 
        in the United States, and protecting the truth of the Holocaust: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) congratulates all those who were responsible for the 
        creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and all 
        those who have turned that vision into a living and growing 
        memorial and educational resource accessible to the people of 
        the United States and the world;
            (2) condemns antisemitism as a particularly pernicious form 
        of hate and racial and religious bigotry and calls on the 
        United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to continue its 
        critical work, in-person and online, educating the public about 
        the dangers of antisemitism and the origins of the Holocaust;
            (3) encourages leaders and all individuals in the United 
        States and around the world to utilize the resources available 
        from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and speak out 
        against manifestations of antisemitism, bigotry, and hatred 
        against Jewish individuals and communities, including growing 
        online antisemitic harassment, abuse, Holocaust denial, and 
        conspiracy theories;
            (4) supports and encourages educational and community-based 
        programs that counter antisemitism and hate, as well as those 
        that advance educational programs about the Holocaust and 
        provide support for Holocaust survivors;
            (5) commits to continue to raise awareness and act to 
        eradicate the continuing scourge of antisemitism in the United 
        States and abroad;
            (6) designates April 26, 2023, as ``United States Holocaust 
        Memorial Museum Day''; and
            (7) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate 
        transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the chair of 
        the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial Council and a copy 
        to the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
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