[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3419-H3423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPLORING INDIVIDUALS WHO DENY HISTORICAL REALITY OF HOLOCAUST AND 
           COMMENDING WORK OF U.S. HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM

  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 316) deploring individuals who deny the historical 
reality of the Holocaust and commending the vital, ongoing work of the 
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 316

       Whereas the Holocaust is a basic fact of history, the 
     denial of which is no less absurd than the denial of the 
     occurrence of the Second World War;
       Whereas the Holocaust--the systematic, state-sponsored mass 
     murders by Nazi Germany of 6,000,000 Jews, alongside millions 
     of others, in the name of a perverse racial theory--stands as 
     one of the most ferociously heinous state acts the world has 
     ever known; and
       Whereas those who promote the denial of the Holocaust do so 
     out of profound ignorance or for the purpose of furthering 
     anti-Semitism and racism: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) deplores the persistent, ongoing and malicious efforts 
     by some persons in this country and abroad to deny the 
     historical reality of the Holocaust; and
       (2) commends the vital, ongoing work of the United States 
     Holocaust Memorial Museum, which memorializes the victims of 
     the Holocaust and teaches all who are willing to learn 
     profoundly compelling and universally resonant moral lessons.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nevada [Mr. Ensign] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Lantos]. 
each will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada [Mr. Ensign].
  (Mr. ENSIGN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 316, 
deploring individuals who deny the historical reality of the Holocaust 
and commending the ongoing work of the U.S. Holocaust Museum.
  I am honored to lead the fight for this important legislation. We 
must never forget nor allow the fog of passing years to diminish the 
memories of those who died in the concentration camps. It is the 
blessed burden of each generation that follows, be they Jew or Gentile, 
to honor them by remembering and acknowledging their sacrifice.
  It has been nearly 60 years since the beginning of the Holocaust, 
when Nazis killed over 6 million Jews and millions of Poles, gypsies, 
Jehovah's Witnesses, and others. The Nazi Holocaust demonstrated an 
aspect of human nature which many people find hard to believe.
  Much has happened since the closure of Auschwitz, and today we find 
the lands where this terrible act occurred, as well as lands which were 
once behind the Iron Curtain are now free.
  We are fortunate that we live in this free and democratic society 
here in America; a place where people can espouse whatever their views 
may be, even if they are factually incorrect or hurtful to others. 
However, freedom of expression cannot be allowed to drown out the 
truth. Flasehoods must be answered.
  It is my hope that this vote will send a strong signal to the 
families of those who died that the United States stands with you in 
remembrance. We will not allow others with their doubts and questions 
to lessen the tragedy of what happened.
  Therefore, I commend this legislation to my colleagues, and encourage 
the good work of the Holocaust Museum which is helping to educate over 
2 million people per year so that the atrocities which occurred nearly 
60 years ago may never be repeated again.

                              {time}  1330

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as we consider this resolution, a few feet from this 
Chamber in the presence of members of the Supreme Court, our colleagues 
and a vast number of individuals who are either survivors of the 
Holocaust or children of survivors, we are commemorating the day that 
has been set aside for remembering this most heinous of all crimes.
  It is a sad commentary on the absurdity of our times that an event as 
profoundly documented as the Holocaust would need to be reemphasized as 
a reality. One and a half million innocent children were among the 6 
million men, women, and little ones who were consumed in the flames of 
hatred that represented the Holocaust. Learned and simple, rich and 
poor, young and old, religious and nonbeliever, they were all consumed 
by the flames of the Holocaust. As the only Member of Congress who is a 
survivor of the Holocaust, I am calling on all of my colleagues every 
year to remember this event, not only for its historic significance but 
so that similar events, comparable events, events of mass destruction 
of human beings, such as the ones we have seen lately in both Africa 
and the former Yugoslavia, should not take place.
  As we remember the Holocaust, we also must pay tribute to the 
greatest pedagogic institution on the face of this planet, the 
Holocaust Memorial Museum. This museum, in our Nation's Capital, is the 
most effective instrument of teaching generations yet unborn that we 
are in fact our brother's and sister's keeper and fanatic hatreds, 
bigotries, and discrimination have no place in a civilized society.
  I suspect this particular year, which is the 50th year of terminating 
the Nuremberg trials which brought to justice the leaders of this 
monstrosity, the people who demanded this mass murder, it is 
appropriate for all of us to pause and to rededicate ourselves to 
recognizing the beauty of our different approaches to religion and 
life. That our variety is not a problem but a thing to be celebrated 
and honored.
  I call on all of my colleagues to remember the Holocaust and to pay 
tribute to the Holocaust Memorial Museum as a primary instrument of 
teaching about our common humanity.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Gilman].
  (Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of legislation the House is 
considering today. House Resolution 316, which I introduced on behalf 
of myself and my colleagues on the Holocaust Memorial Council, deplores 
the persistent, ongoing, and malicious efforts by some persons in this 
country and abroad to deny the historical reality of the Holocaust. 
This legislation also commends the vital, ongoing work of the U.S. 
Holocaust Memorial Museum in speaking the truth against those who would 
deny that the Holocaust ever took place or who attempt to negate that 
the Holocaust specifically targeted Jews for extinction.
  I wish to especially thank the chairman of the Resources Committee, 
Mr. Young, and the chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Mr. 
Hansen, for their great support in expediting consideration of House 
Resolution 316. It is exceedingly timely that today's consideration 
takes place, since today is also Holocaust Memorial Day, and many of us 
have attended the remembrance day ceremony that the Museum sponsored at 
noon in our Capitol rotunda.
  One of the major reasons for the Museum's very existence is to 
counter Holocaust deniers. Those who foster the denial of the Holocaust 
do so either out of profound ignorance or for the purpose of furthering 
anti-Semitism, bigotry, and racism. The Holocaust Memorial Museum, 
through its permanent exhibitions, traveling programs, and educational 
outreach efforts, both memorialize the victims of the Holocaust, and 
counters those accusers through

[[Page H3420]]

its honest and sensitive approach to one of the most ferociously 
heinous state acts the world has ever known.
  Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to express their 
support for the work of the Holocaust Memorial Museum by adopting House 
Resolution 316 and by participating in the Days of Remembrance 
ceremonies throughout our Nation.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Schumer], who in his own work here in the 
Congress has done so much to preserve a society under laws.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate both the gentleman 
from New York [Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Lantos] for this timely resolution.
  I need not add any more words in praise of the Holocaust Museum and 
the Holocaust Memorial. It is a tribute to America that when you go 
there, you see people from every corner of America visiting and 
learning and remembering.
  I look at the museum as a great tribute to those who conceived it and 
put it together but also as a great tribute to this country. I do not 
think such a museum would have been built in any other country.
  But I would like to talk for the remainder of my time on the part of 
the bill dealing with revisionism.
  I represent a large number of Holocaust survivors. When they hear and 
read these ads denying that the Holocaust existed, when just about 
every one of them lost members of their immediate family, their 
parents, their brothers and sisters, their children, and yet they 
suffer the indignity of people for their own vicious, vitriolic, and 
usually anti-Semitic purposes to deny that the Holocaust existed, it is 
an indignity that the people who have gone through such great 
indignities should not have to suffer. That is why this resolution is 
so appropriate. It is appropriate because this Congress, with all the 
divisions we have, can come and unite and say, ``You can't change 
history,'' and we realize the pain people went through, and we also 
remember, being the great country that we are, that unless we learn 
from history, we are going to repeat it.
  I would say to my colleagues, the fact that a few people with vicious 
intent can get such attention and do so much to try and deny the 
Holocaust is a sad commentary on our times as the gentleman from 
California mentioned. It deals with an issue which I would call moral 
relativism. These days no matter how absurd, no matter how outrageous 
something someone says is, the general view is, ``Well, let's debate 
it.'' There are some absolutes. There is truth. There is history. And 
the idea that no matter what anyone says, we should put it on the table 
as equal to the refutation of what has been said is something that we 
have to deal with. Obviously there are differing views on so many 
issues. But there is not a differing view on this one. The Holocaust 
existed. We know it. I have talked myself to thousands who survived it. 
They did not all get in a room and make this up. They suffered. Every 
family.
  I was just looking at a picture at my home that I pointed out to my 
daughters was a picture of a family of six, my grandmother who lived in 
this country to over 90, her parents, her brother who I knew, and her 
two sisters. Her parents and her two sisters were killed in the 
Holocaust, and I pointed this out to my 11-year-old and 7-year-old, and 
someone who has no knowledge of this comes in and says, ``No, it didn't 
exist.'' That is awful. That is degrading. And this body by taking a 
stand and saying that it did exist is doing not just the survivors a 
service and not just the people who have relatives who died a service, 
it is doing the world a service. I thank the gentlemen, both of them, 
for introducing this resolution.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox], a fellow visitor to Yad Vashem, which is the 
Holocaust Museum in Israel.
  (Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Nevada [Mr. Ensign] for yielding me the time. I would like to thank the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] and the gentleman from California 
[Mr. Lantos] for their leadership in introducing this legislation. One 
of the most solemn obligations we bear as legislators in our great 
democracy is to study the past and learn from it and to educate our 
fellow citizens.
  As the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, ``Human capacity 
for justice makes democracy possible, but our inclination to injustice 
makes democracy necessary.'' The revolting evidence of man's capacity 
for injustice lies close by in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and 
also in the memory of some of our distinguished colleagues. The 
inhumane events of the Holocaust were far beyond description. The 
collapse of a democracy and the rise of an evil regime must never be 
forgotten or denied for fear that they will be repeated. The horrors 
which followed were incomprehensible.
  Because of my religious upbringing and roots, the Holocaust 
Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah, has a personal significance for me. But 
far more importantly this day and its memories hold valuable lessons 
for all of us as Members of the U.S. Congress. We must never forget the 
bitter consequences of tyranny. These preserved memories are important 
but they must be strengthened by education and a willingness to act. 
This willingness of each of us to not be a bystander is the key to 
protecting our democracy. In the report to the President, the Holocaust 
Commission members, led by Elie Wiesel, summed up the reasons for and 
role of an American memorial and museum to the Holocaust:

       In reflecting on the Holocaust we confront not only a 
     collapse in human civilization but also the causes, processes 
     and consequences of that collapse. As we analyze the American 
     record, we can study our triumphs, as well as our failures, 
     so as to defeat radical evil and strengthen our democracy.

                              {time}  1345

  My colleagues, let us be ever vigilant in working for the people, 
pursuing the will of the majority, while ensuring the rights of the 
minority. Let us, as Elie Wiesel asks, never be silent when human lives 
are in danger and human dignity is in jeopardy. Let us follow his 
charge to stand together, to ``defeat radical evil and strengthen our 
democracy'' and ensure that there are no more holocausts in the future.
  Those that would deny the Holocaust not only dishonor the memory of 
the martyrs who lost their lives in this tragedy, but also rejects the 
ideas and values on which our great country is based.
  Thank you all for standing as one against those who would deny the 
Holocaust and for standing up for all America represents to the people 
who call our great Nation home and to those across the globe that look 
to us as a beacon of freedom and hope.
  I would also like to thank my freshmen colleagues who joined the 
gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Kennedy] and myself at the Holocaust 
Museum this past summer. One of our most weighty responsibilities is to 
bear witness, to tell and retell the facts of the Holocaust so that its 
lessons will never be forgotten. It is my sincere hope that all future 
freshman classes will visit the Holocaust Museum and reflect on its 
lessons as they apply to our work.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased to yield such time 
as he may consume to the gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Kennedy], my 
dear friend and colleague whose family has done so much to carry 
forward the principles of freedom and justice and decency among human 
beings in this country and across the globe.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the 
chairman for writing this resolution, along with the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Lantos], and the only Holocaust survivor in this 
Congress, for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, as Congressman Lantos said, who would have thought it 
necessary to affirm that the Holocaust has happened? Who would have 
thought it was necessary to affirm what was the worst crime against 
humanity the world has ever seen? Tragically, it is necessary. As we 
all know, the historical record of the Holocaust faces challenges on 
many fronts. These must be fought in every instance. Revisionism and 
denial threaten more than just the understanding of an unfathomable 
event. They threaten the future as

[[Page H3421]]

well, for the energy which animates the Holocaust denier and the 
revisionist is the same hatred which propelled the Holocaust into being 
in the first place.
  Today, one of the most offensive challenges to the historical record 
of the Holocaust is set to take place in Croatia, where President 
Franjo Tudjman has announced plans to rebury the remains of the 
Croatian fascists, the Yastashi regime, that was in complicity with 
Hitler and the Nazis. He has announced a plan to rebury these SS 
officers, if you will, alongside the remains of the victims of the 
Holocaust in the death camp Yasenovech, which is also in Croatia.
  This proposal is a moral affront to those who suffered the Holocaust, 
and it sends a dangerous message. No, it sends a lie to future 
generations about what happened at the death camp Yasenovech. It 
muddles the history.
  Here, on what should be sacred ground, perpetrators of the Holocaust 
and victims of the Holocaust would now be lying side-by-side for an 
eternity. For those who endured a living hell, this is the ultimate 
injustice.
  President Tudjman and other Holocaust revisionists should not derive 
false comfort from a deliberate distortion of their past. His proposal, 
in the words of Dr. Walter Reich, head of the Holocaust Memorial Museum 
here in Washington, DC, is ``nothing more than an attempt to rewrite 
history with a shovel.'' This should not be allowed to happen. I know 
this House will speak out strongly on this issue, as will the Senate 
when it comes to the floor.
  I want to commend my colleagues, when it comes to this resolution, 
for including this proposal in today's Yom HASHOAH recognition. As 
well, I want to commend the Holocaust Museum for the support they have 
offered in this fight and for the invaluable education they provide to 
thousands who visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC 
every day. The mission of this museum has never been more important, 
and it is something that everyone should visit if they have not visited 
already.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Zimmer].
  Mr. ZIMMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to join my colleagues on this day of 
Yom HaShoah to offer a resolution reaffirming the truth of the 
Holocaust and commending the work and mission of the U.S. Holocaust 
Memorial Museum.
  I hope my colleagues also will join me in supporting legislation I am 
introducing today directing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council to 
draft model curricula that schools can use to ensure that the truth and 
accuracy of the Holocaust is taught to, and remembered by, the 
generations to come.
  A half century ago, more than 8 million people were deliberately, 
brutally, and systematically murdered in a state-sponsored effort to 
annihilate their ethnic and religious existence. Of those, fully 6 
million were Jewish. Many others from across Europe died risking their 
lives for simply being compassionate and trying to intervene.
  All of their deaths are fact, not fiction. And those who deny that 
reality not only further the pain and delay the healing but perpetuate 
a crime on history and humanity.
  Their motives for doing this are varied. But we should be as one in 
our response.
  We should condemn those who deny the Holocaust for trying to rob us 
of the understanding of the evil that humanity is capable of.
  That knowledge itself is the most powerful protection we have against 
such horror occurring again. It is a lesson about what can happen when 
the soul becomes desensitized and corrupted.
  Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust 
Council's first honorary chairman, reminded people last night--and I 
quote--``Don't allow anyone or anything to deprive you of the great, 
great miracle which renders a human being sensitive to others.''
  I commend the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the council for 
making sure that we never forget.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Engel], my friend and distinguished 
colleague, an indefatigable fighter for human rights and decency.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from California for 
yielding me time. Let me say we are all inspired by his story and his 
efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, just a brief while ago many of us attended a Yom HaShoah 
remembrance, Days of Remembrance, 1996, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 
and they passed out this program. On the program it says, ``For the 
dead and the living, we must bear witness.''
  Certainly nothing is more obscene than those Holocaust revisionists 
who try to claim that it did not happen or that it did not happen to 
the magnitude that we know it happened. They include, unfortunately, 
leaders of countries. Even a candidate for President of this country 
has from time to time made such ridiculous allegations.
  When you go to the Holocaust Memorial Museum on the fourth floor and 
you first walk in, there is a quote from President Eisenhower, then 
General Eisenhower, who said he wanted to witness what went on after 
the camps were liberated. he wanted to be there himself so that if, 
generations later on, if there would be those people who would deny 
that such horrendous things ever happened, he would be able to bear 
witness that he say it with his own two eyes.
  Mr. Speaker, the unspeakable atrocities that went on in trying to 
annihilate the Jews of Europe is something that must never be 
forgotten, and it is certainly something that must never be repeated. 
Those of us who have witnessed the events, tragic events, over the past 
several years in Bosnia, while not of the magnitude of the Holocaust, 
certainly touched a responsive chord in us to know that we cannot ever 
again sit idly by and watch ethnic cleansing or Holocaust to rear its 
ugly head again.
  One would think the world would learn, the world would know, the 
world would not want to repeat what went on. Yet we see again and again 
genocide rearing its ugly head.
  So I think it is very, very fitting, Mr. Speaker, that this body 
pause to honor the people who perished in the Holocaust, the memory of 
the people who perished in the Holocaust, and to redouble our efforts 
to make sure that in the future, holocausts never happen again.
  On this day of Yom HaShoah, we bear witness to what happened, and we 
honor those people who perished in the Holocaust.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Paxon].
  Mr. PAXON. Mr. Speaker, never again. That is the cry of those who 
must keep the memory of the Holocaust and its victims alive forever. We 
must keep this memory in mind so that there will never again in history 
be a repeat of this worst of human tragedies.
  Today, April 16, is the Day of Remembrance, a day on which we should 
reflect as a nation on the monumental tragedy of the Holocaust directed 
at the Jewish population of Europe by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.
  Unfortunately, there are too many individuals, both in our Nation and 
in the world, who would twist and distort the historical facts, in 
their sickening attempts to claim that the Holocaust never existed, or 
to minimize its scope.
  By voting in support of this resolution, I hope that Congress will 
send a message, a clear message, against these purveyors of anti-
Semitism and hatred, who seek to erase this tragedy from human memory.
  The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in this Nation's Capital serves to 
educate and inform Americans about the reality of the Holocaust through 
its many displays, its films, and interviews. But in my opinion, Mr. 
Speaker, the most moving part of the museum is the testimony of 
Holocaust survivors and eyewitnesses. These touching accounts are a 
bridge between the past and the present. They serve as a stark reminder 
of the depths of inhumanity to which the human race can sink, and they 
keep the memory of the Holocaust victims and survivors alive in our 
minds, so we can make certain that tragedies of this proportion never 
again can occur on the face of the Earth.
  In conclusion, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of House 
Resolution

[[Page H3422]]

316, and I end my statement as I began, be repeating the words that 
should be always remembered, and those words are, ``never again.''
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important in discussing this issue that we 
understand that the Holocaust did not begin with gas chambers. The 
Holocaust began with words of hate, with words of bigotry, with words 
of intolerance. And every time in our own time when we are confronted 
with words of bigotry and hate and intolerance, it is important that we 
nip those manifestations of inhumanity in the bud, because, if allowed 
to flourish, they will lead to unspeakable acts of horror, such as the 
ones we have witnessed in the Holocaust.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts [Mr. Torkildsen].

                              {time}  1400

  Mr. TORKILDSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House 
Resolution 316, a resolution deploring individuals who deny the 
historical reality of the Holocaust and also commending the work of the 
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Each year we observe Yom HaShoah to say 
for the dead and the living, we must bear witness. For the dead and the 
living, we must bear witness that, in the darkest chapter in human 
history, 6 million lives were stolen from us forever, as was part of 
the human spirit.
  This year's remembrance sadly is crystallized by recent tragedies and 
actions of terrorism in Israel, reminding all of us that hatred still 
lives and breathes in the midst of all attempts to forge peace.
  The senseless assassination of Prime Minister Rabin and the terrorist 
bombings that claimed innocent lives only 6 weeks ago must serve as a 
source of strength and solidarity for all of us, and renew our 
commitment to just and lasting peace. The cowardly perpetrators of 
these acts must not succeed in their aim to divide us and in their 
attempts to assassinate peace as well as people.
  Tragically, there are other present day reminders of the Holocaust. 
Ethnic cleansing and the slaughter in Rwanda continue to serve as proof 
that we must never forget.
  The beauty of Yom HaShoah is that it is universal. The lessons of the 
Holocaust are for all of us in the human family to learn, to 
understand, and to instill in others, for us to earnestly say ``never 
again.'' We must every day continue to remember. For the dead and the 
living, we must bear witness.
  Shalom.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, what we are talking about today, if you go back in 
history, people did not believe that stories coming out of the death 
camps, stories that were just almost too unspeakable to even think of 
and, therefore, people in Europe chose to ignore them.
  Mr. Speaker, let us today, as we remember the Holocaust and we 
celebrate the Holocaust Museum and the work that it is doing, let us 
never forget those stories that came out of those death camps. Let us 
never forget the faces of the men and women and children that were 
tortured and brutally murdered, many in those death camps. Let us not 
let people rewrite history, because if we allow them to rewrite 
history, history will indeed repeat itself.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, today on the House floor we are 
considering House Resolution 316--a measure deploring individuals who 
deny the historical significance of the Holocaust and commending the 
fine work of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  I rise in strong support of this measure, as it is important that we 
never forget or attempt to diminish the historical significance of one 
of the most heinous chapters in history--the Holocaust. There are some 
who seek to revise history, to alter it in such a way as to deny the 
Holocaust. This is insulting to the memory of the 6 million Jews who 
died in the Holocaust, and this type of destructive, divisive thinking 
should not be given credence.
  In the 104th Congress I have had the honor of serving on the council 
of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. I would like to take this 
opportunity to praise the fine work of the museum staff, from its 
director, Walter Reich, to its chairman, Miles Lerman, to Stan Turesky, 
Director of Congressional Relations.
  The museum truly is an American and international treasure and goes 
far beyond the traditional purpose of a museum, which is to preserve 
and record history. This museum compels its visitors to consider the 
moral and spiritual consequences of the Holocaust. It accomplishes this 
by exposing the visitor to stark and unsettling examples of hatred, 
heartbreak, and heroism. The stories of perpetrators, victims, 
bystanders, rescuers and liberators confront the visitor and demand 
attention. By doing so, the museum forces us to learn important lessons 
about the Holocaust and our everyday lives.
  On this Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust--Yom HaShoah--we as a 
nation should rededicate ourselves and our commitment to overcoming 
bigotry, hatred, and intolerance. We should condemn those who want to 
dismiss the Holocaust, and embrace the efforts of those who rightly 
believe that we as a nation can learn from the Holocaust experience and 
ensure that it will never again be repeated.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have this opportunity to 
rise in support of House Resolution 316, a bill that deplores 
individuals in the United States and abroad who deny the historical 
reality of the Holocaust, and commends the crucial, ongoing work of the 
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. This important piece of legislation 
coincides with the 1996 Days of Remembrance which will be held in the 
Capitol rotunda today.
  In 1980, Congress established the U.S. Holocaust Museum to serve as a 
memorial to the 6 million victims of the Holocaust and as a center for 
the study, interpretation and presentation of Holocaust history. The 
museum uses the historical record in its exhibits and outreach programs 
to counter the outrageous charges by revisionist historians who attempt 
to deny the occurrence of the Holocaust. The Holocaust Museum leads the 
charge in fighting against ignorance, racism and anti-Semitism.
  Every year, more than 2 million people travel to Washington to visit 
the Holocaust Museum. An overwhelming majority of these visitors travel 
more than 100 miles to do so. Tens of thousands of survivors, scholars, 
students, members of the media and Government officials utilize the 
museum as a center for scholarship and learning about the Holocaust and 
genocide.
  The U.S. Holocaust Museum is truly a national treasure. I am deeply 
honored to have this opportunity to highlight its outstanding work.
  Mr. MARTINI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Yom HaShoah and 
remember the 6 million Jewish people who were killed in the Holocaust. 
I also rise today to pledge my full support for House Resolution 316, a 
resolution deploring individuals in the United States and abroad who 
deny the historical reality of the Holocaust and commending the work of 
the Holocaust Museum.
  Last summer, I was fortunate to have been afforded the opportunity to 
visit Israel as a member of a congressional delegation researching the 
tangible effects of the peace process. My visit taught me a tremendous 
amount. Fortunately, we were given the opportunity to visit many 
historical landmarks in Israel that are of particular importance to 
understanding the history of Judaism. This history could not be 
holistically understood without a visit to Yad Vasheem. This memorial 
museum to the victims of the Holocaust was both horrifying and 
beautiful in an enlightening way. Horrifying in its intensity and in 
its truth and beautiful in its message. The message of remembrance is 
immortalized. My visit to Yad Vasheem still haunts me.
  The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, is an equally 
monumental achievement made possible by the spirit of hope and 
remembrance. Similarly, this museum painfully humanizes and chronicles 
the most cataclysmic event in Jewish history, as well as human history.
  The Shoah--Holocaust--was a genocide acted out on the international 
stage in the face of apathy and often complicity. Six million Jewish 
people were killed. European Jewry ceased to exist on much of the 
Continent, and wounds have been left around the world that will never 
heal.
  It is my hope that today the world will remember the suffering of so 
many innocent people. Further, it is my hope that the perpetrators of 
evil and the proponents of ethnic purity achieved through genocide will 
look to the lessons that history has taught us and realize that their 
goal will not be looked upon with complicity and their efforts will be 
futile. The history of the Holocaust is not a lie.
  The message that we must impart on our children and ourselves is one 
of tolerance and remembrance. We must teach our children of the past 
and assure that such a heinous act never occurs on this Earth again. 
And in the end, let us remember death but focus our vision on life and 
the growth of Jewish culture.

[[Page H3423]]

  Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this resolution, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Camp). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Nevada [Mr. Ensign] that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, House Resolution 316.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5, rule I, and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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