[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 51 (Friday, April 19, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E591]
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

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                               speech of

                          HON. GARY A. FRANKS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 16, 1996

  Mr. FRANKS of Connecticut. I rise in strong support of House 
Resolution 316, a measure which applauds the work of the U.S. Holocaust 
Memorial Museum while condemning those people who have the sheer 
audacity to deny that the Holocaust ever occurred.
  Mr. Speaker, the Holocaust Museum serves as a poignant historical 
reminder of one of the darkest periods of human history--the systematic 
extermination by Nazi Germany of over six million Jews. This important 
museum serves as an essential, necessary monument that reminds the 
world of those people whose lives were savagely ripped away from them 
in Nazi death camps like Auschwitz while honoring the brave people who 
fiercely took a stand against the evil Nazi tyrants.
  Mr. Speaker, anyone who visits the Holocaust Museum will find it to 
be an experience both sobering and stirring. I applaud the work of 
those who are involved with the Holocaust Museum for the job they have 
done in educating the public and making sure that we will never forget. 
Truly, anyone who visits our Nation's capital should make pilgrimage to 
this museum.
  Sadly, Mr. Speaker, there are still those who dispute that a 
Holocaust ever occurred. They maintain, mainly out of hatred and anti-
semitism, that there was no genocide and that the notion of the 
Holocaust is fraudulent. Mr. Speaker, I feel it is our duty as duly-
elected officials, as representatives of the American people, to 
condemn these hateful people for such warped attitudes and make notice 
that these despicable people, these offensive outcasts of society, 
remain permanently embedded in the status of pariahs of our 
communities.
  Mr. Speaker, when all is said and done, I pray that we have learned 
from this sad, sad chapter of human history and that we, the human 
race, must never forget the necessity of being soldiers on the front 
lines in the war versus bigotry, hatred, and racism. The Holocaust 
Museum serves as a concrete record and as a reminder, for us and 
generations to come, of our obligation in this battle for us and our 
children. I commend Congressman Gilman and Congressman Lantos for their 
work on this endeavor and I encourage my colleagues to pass this 
important resolution.

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