[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 47 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E524]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 YOM HASHOAH: REMEMBER, HONOR, REFLECT

                                 ______


                        HON. STEVE C. LaTOURETTE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 15, 1996

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, this evening at Fairmount Temple in 
Beachwood, OH, a Yom HaShoah V'Hagvura Commemoration is being held. Had 
the House of Representatives not been in session this day, I would have 
joined my friends and constituents at this special community event. I 
deeply regret not being able to attend the Yom HaShoah Commemoration, 
and wish to commend those who worked so hard to make the evening a 
success.
  The purpose of this community commemoration is to remember the 
Holocaust and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This evening's special 
commemorative event is part of the larger Holocaust Day of 
Remembrance--an internationally recognized day set aside annually to 
remember the victims of the Holocaust, including the 6 million Jews 
murdered by the Nazis and their evil collaborators.
  As the member of Congress representing Ohio's 19th District, it has 
been a profound honor for me to serve on the council of the U.S. 
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. This council was created 
by a unanimous act of Congress in 1980 and was charged with the task of 
creating the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Our mission is to 
encourage remembrance of the Holocaust--to remember its victims--and to 
assure that never again in history will we allow bigotry and hatred to 
run unchecked.
  There are some who will assert that the Holocaust was about Jews and 
therefore any remembrance of the Holocaust will have meaning only to 
Jews. Those people could not be more wrong. When we remember the 
Holocaust we remember a historical truth too great for most to fathom, 
but one that can never be forgotten. If we know anything about history, 
it is that it tends to repeat itself. The Holocaust, however, must 
never be repeated. While it is painful to dwell on such a heinous slice 
of history, it is a pain that should never be far from the hearts and 
minds of all Americans, for America responded to the horror of the 
Holocaust in a way that was tragically and regretfully inadequate.
  The systematic extermination of European Jews began in June 1941 when 
the German Army invaded the Soviet Union, yet it would be some time 
until reports of atrocities would filter back to the United States, and 
even longer until they were taken seriously. Most Americans, meanwhile, 
remained unaware of the horror inflicted on European Jews, as reports 
of atrocities were not widely publicized by the media. American and 
British Jewish organizations, however, took the reports with the 
seriousness they deserved, and only at their insistence did the 
American and British governments decide to act to rescue those European 
Jews who had fallen victim to the Nazis.
  As you commemorate the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising this evening, it is 
important to remember that at the same time the uprising began--April 
1943--the Bermuda Conference opened. This emergency conference was 
intended to outline a solid plan for rescuing Jews from Nazi 
atrocities, yet little was accomplished, as both British and American 
delegates fretted over what to do with those Jews who would be rescued. 
The United States would not budge on its immigration quotas, and 
Britain would not even consider the possibility of admitting rescued 
Jews into Palestine.
  The two governments exhibited cowardice and indifference while those 
staging the revolt displayed unparalleled backbone and heroism. The 
inaction at the Bermuda Conference, unfortunately, would lead to 
additional torture and extermination of Jews. This followed, of course, 
our country's unwise refusal to relax immigration quotas following the 
Evian Conference in 1938. It hardly seems possible today given our 
country's leadership in helping others, but of the 33 countries 
represented at Evian, only the tiny Dominican Republic agreed to accept 
a significant number of Jewish refugees. The American response to 
Hitler's Germany is a legacy of shame we can never forget.
  Meanwhile, at the same time America and Britain could not agree on 
what to do about rescuing Jews from Nazi atrocities, Jews in the Warsaw 
Ghetto residents were carrying out an orchestrated revolt, refusing to 
report to deportation areas and staging an armed uprising. The Jews 
fought valiantly against their Nazi tormentors, even as German forces 
began destroying the ghetto, setting buildings on fire to force out 
those in hiding. Finally, on May 16, 1943--nearly a month after the 
heroic uprising began--the Nazis in one last act of horrific bravado 
destroyed the Great Synagogue to symbolize victory. With the ghetto 
reduced to rubble, those Jews who survived the monthlong violent Warsaw 
Ghetto uprising were deported to forced-labor or extermination camps, 
where Nazi horror, tyranny and hatred continued to reign.
  On this day, it is my fervent hope that all Americans will pause and 
embrace the spirit of the Day of Remembrance, and the tireless efforts 
of those who seek to make this day resonate with significance--from my 
friends at Fairmount Temple to all the Jewish, community and civic 
organizations across the country, to the dedicated staff and council of 
the U.S. Holocaust Museum. May all Americans make a lasting commitment 
never to forget the Holocaust, or the moral, spiritual, and ethical 
questions it raises for those of us blessed to live in a democracy.

                          ____________________