[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: May 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
LT. GEN. CLAUDE M. KICKLIGHTER'S SPEECH DURING THE ``DAYS OF
REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY''
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, in a little less than 1 month, the world
will commemorate the 50th anniversary of ``D-day,'' the invasion of
Europe that signaled the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. As a
veteran of the invasion, I remember how excited we were with our
progress as we quickly pushed the enemy back into Germany. As we got
closer to Germany, though, our enthusiasm was severely and depressingly
dampened as Allied units began to liberate concentration camps.
I will never forget how shocked and sickened I was by what I found at
Buchenwald. It was a place filled with people who were starved,
diseased, and barely alive. How anyone could survive such an
environment was amazing, and how anyone could create such a Hell was
incomprehensive. For the loss of better words, I, and my fellow
liberators, were aghast and infuriated at what we discovered at that
camp and its gruesome horror was permanently burned into our memories.
As time marches on, and the bizarre era of German history known as
nazism grows distant, younger generations run the danger of forgetting,
or worse yet, never knowing the atrocities of the madmen of the Third
Reich. It is for that reason that events, such as the commemorative
ceremony that was held last month, down the hall and in the rotunda, is
so important. By gathering camp survivors; camp liberators; government,
business, and religious leaders, we can ensure that those who died in
the camps or fighting the evils of Hitler's twisted ideology are
remembered, and; most importantly, that the Holocaust is never
forgotten.
Mr. President, as you know, last month's ceremony was a very
emotional one. I was especially moved by the remarks of Lt. Gen. Claude
M. Kicklighter and would like to share them with my friends in the
Senate and ask unanimous consent that they be placed in the Record
following my remarks.
There being no objection, the remarks were ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Remarks by Lt. Gen. Claude M. Kicklighter, U.S. Army Retired
Mr. Vice President, Members of the Senate and House, Mr.
Ambassadors, Mr. Secretary and so many other distinguished
guests, especially survivors, liberators and rescuers, ladies
and gentlemen.
It is with pride, humility and gratitude that I accept the
General Eisenhower Liberation Medal on behalf of millions of
brave men and women who liberated Europe; freed the captives
from the death camps; attained victory as they brought the
most destructive war in history to an end. A grateful nation
does not remember, especially the courage of all those who
gave all their tomorrows so that this tyranny could be
destroyed and free men and women could once again walk in the
Sun, at peace. Today, I am honored to be in the presence of
so many patriots and heroes in this special place and on this
special occasion.
Fifty years ago, we were engaged in a life and death
struggle against the worst tyranny in the history of mankind.
A dark period in which civilization as we know it was almost
lost. A war in which 15 million men and women of all nations
were killed in battle. Another 38 million men, women, and
children lost their lives as this war swept across their
homelands. Of these, 8 to 10 million were murdered in the
concentration camps--only God knows how many. Today, it is
impossible to comprehend the magnitude of that tragedy, any
more than we can understand the loss of one precious child--a
child like Anne Frank.
Early one morning in June of 1944, the liberators jumped
from the sky, and stormed across the beaches into Normandy.
They won that crucial battle and kept on winning, as they
charged across Europe, changing history as they went. In that
march, they discovered the concentration camps and their
unspeakable horrors. There began a new battle, one fought
with a different kind of courage and with a special
compassion, as the liberators sought to save the lives of
thousands of survivors, who were broken physically and
emotionally and most were at the brink of death.
Amid the suffering and dying in the death camps had been
whispered a common prayer: ``God, let there be survivors who
can bear witness to this horrible nightmare.'' The God who is
the Father of us all, heard those prayers and made the
survivors and their liberators and rescuers the conscience of
this Nation and this world. The fact that we are gathered
here this morning is an answer to those prayers.
As I look around this audience, I see many friends with
whom I was privileged to take a very moving journey just 16
months ago, which Mr. Lerman talked about earlier. A journey
with the survivors and liberators of the death camps.
That journey began in those camps and ended on the beaches
of Normandy. We walked together, we wept together, we
prayed together, as we visited those monuments of man's
inhumanity to man, and the military cemeteries, where lie
the liberators of Europe. We gathered soil and sand that
was stained with the precious and innocent blood of so
many, and we returned home, forever changed. That soil and
sand rests today in a place of honor in the Hall of
Remembrance, under the eternal flame in the Holocaust
Memorial Museum.
A few days ago, I again visited the Hall of Remembrance. As
I looked at the container holding that soil, silent voices
reminded me, that we must never forget. The silent voices
charge those of us who know the truth about this evil to join
the ranks of the survivors and liberators, and become
messengers, teachers, and sentries so the world will never
forget what happened in those dark and depraved days.
We must work and pray for peace--but not peace at any price
and not just the absence of war, but a peace that celebrates
the triumph of freedom and human dignity. If we remember, if
we learn from this history, if we prepare, World War II and
all its tragedies may become known as the last world war.
Sadly, the awful history of the 1930's and 1940's is today,
unknown by many. The young of today and future generations
must be warned and protected. We must teach our children, and
they their children. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is a
living, teaching, speaking witness that is making a
difference in the world, through all those who visit. My
visit recalled to mind the adage that the only thing good men
must do to let evil men succeed is to do nothing.
Even as this soul and flame reminds us of the suffering of
just 50 short years ago, they also signify hope. Hope for the
future. Hope that comes from the knowledge that good men and
women were willing to sacrifice their all to destroy evil.
This strong, free, and beautiful America in which we live
today was given to us by those brave men and women who had
the courage to confront and conquer evil, as they have done
throughout our history and as they will continue to do.
The voices from beyond the grave and the voices of those
who died in the concentration camps and the voices of those
who built this Hall of Remembrance all cry out that their
sacrifices must not have been in vain. They say to us: ``You
must never be guilty of doing nothing. You must never again
let this terrible thing happen.''
Never again.
Never again.
I am humbled and honored to receive this award--God bless
America.
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