[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E953-E954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REMARKS OF BENJAMIN MEED AT THE NATIONAL DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 1996

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on April 16, Members of Congress, members of 
the Diplomatic Corps, and hundreds of survivors of the Holocaust and 
their friends gathered here in the Capitol Rotunda for the National 
Days of Remembrance commemoration. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council 
was established by Congress to preserve the memory of the victims of 
the Holocaust. I commend the Council and the members of the Days of 
Remembrance Committee, chaired by my good friend, Benjamin Meed, for 
their vigilant and genuine adherence to their extraordinarily important 
task.
  One of the first acts of the Council was to establish the annual Days 
of Remembrance commemoration to mirror similar observances held in 
Israel and throughout our Nation and elsewhere in the world. This year, 
the commemoration centered on the 50th anniversary of the Nuremburg 
trials. The observance was a reminder of the difficult process of first 
coping and then healing that all survivors and their families and loved 
ones had to endure.
  I invite my colleagues to read Benjamin Meed's excellent welcoming 
remarks. Ben Meed is the most prominent and effective force for keeping 
the lessons and the memories of the Holocaust alive in the United 
States. We are extremely fortunate that this highly competent 
individual has committed his life to this important task, and in 
particular to organizing the annual National Days of Remembrance 
commemoration. I ask that Ben Meed's remarks be inserted into the 
Record.

   Welcoming Remarks by Benjamin Meed, Chairman, Days of Remembrance

       Members of the Diplomatic Corps, distinguished Members of 
     Congress, Honorable members of the Holocaust Memorial 
     Council, Fellow Survivors, Dear Friends.
       When Congress created the United States Holocaust Memorial 
     Council in 1980, there were only a few Yom Hashoah 
     observances held in communities of Holocaust survivors living 
     in this country. You, the Members of Congress, entrusted us, 
     the members of the Council, with the responsibility of 
     teaching American citizens about the Holocaust. We have 
     complied with your mandate by building the Holocaust Memorial 
     Museum, which most of you have visited, and by leading the 
     nation in annual civic commemorations, known as the Days of 
     Remembrance. I am privileged to tell you that now, during 
     this week of Holocaust Remembrance, more than a million 
     people from all the states of our great Union will come 
     together in Memory. We are joined by Governors, Mayors and 
     community leaders as well as professors, teachers and 
     schoolchildren.
       Earlier today, the entire nation of Israel stopped and 
     stood silent in Remembrance. We are together in dedication to 
     Memory and aspiration for Peace.
       Over the past fifteen years that we have gathered to 
     commemorate in this Rotunda, we have observed an 
     anniversary--the fiftieth year of a milestone event: the 
     Night of Broken Glass, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the 
     encounter between American soldiers and Holocaust survivors.
       This year we confront the anniversary of the aftermath of 
     the Holocaust: what happened as we survivors attempted to 
     rebuild our lives. This was not an easy thing to do. It was 
     years before we could ask a policeman for directions. Why? 
     Because he was wearing a uniform. For a long time, it took 
     courage just to answer a knock on the front door.
       It is true that we looked to the future in hope, but the 
     shadows of the past remained. And so we dedicated our lives 
     to Remembrance--remembrance of all those for whom the future 
     had been destroyed by the Shoah.
       Rebuilding because a central concern for the world--
     rebuilding a Europe devastated by war; rebuilding the 
     shattered image of humanity in a world of Auschwitz, Belzec 
     and Treblinka. America understood the necessity of 
     encouraging the European nations to work together for 
     economic recovery. Thus the Marshall Plan was implemented, 
     and the groundwork for the Europe of today was laid.
       The Allied leaders also realize that to build a sound 
     future, there had to be an accounting for crimes so great as 
     to be unparalleled in recorded history.
       Nuremberg, the city where Nazi party pageants had been 
     held, the place where the Nuremberg Laws were promulgated and 
     the German legal system became an accomplice to mass murder, 
     was chosen as the site for the first, joint International 
     Military Tribunal.
       In its charter, three forms of crimes were specified. Two 
     of them were ancient, but one was unprecedented. Crimes 
     against the peace and war crimes were familiar terms to all 
     of us, but Crimes Against Humanity was a new category. It 
     described mass murder and extermination, enslavement and 
     deportation based on racial, religious, or political 
     affiliation.
       Through the proceedings of the Nuremberg Trials, we came to 
     know the perpetrators. Documents that the killers had so 
     carefully created were gathered and studied. In the defense 
     testimony of accused doctors, judges and industrial leaders 
     as well as military generals, Einsatzgruppen commanders, and 
     concentration camp commandants, the world learned ``how the 
     crimes were committed.'' We also learned that tens of 
     thousands of ordinary Germans from all walks of life had 
     willingly participated in the annihilation process. 
     Ironically, those on trial pled not guilty to the charges, 
     they did not claim innocence. Rather, they attempted to shift 
     the burden of responsibility to those of higher rank.
       Was justice achieved? Certainly not! For what meaning can 
     justice have in a world of Mydanek, Chelmo and Sobibor? What 
     punishment is appropriate for the crimes?
       Still, the attempt to speak of justice was important. It 
     was a way of setting limits, of saying there are crimes so 
     evil and so enormous that civilizations itself is on trial. 
     For such crimes, there must be punishment.
       For many years at hundreds of commemorations around the 
     world, we have pleaded Zuchor--Remember--Remember the 
     children of Teresienstadt. Remember the fighters of Warsaw. 
     Remember the poets of Vilna. Remember all of our lost loved 
     ones.
       Today, let us also not forget the killers. Let us not 
     forget their evil and their infamy. Let us not forget them 
     because they express what happens to the power of government 
     and the majesty of legal systems that become detached from 
     moral values and humane goals. The same powers that heal and 
     help can also humiliate and decimate. There is a difference; 
     there must be a difference; and you and I must make sure that 
     we make a difference.
       With these words, here in this great Hall of democracy, let 
     us recommit ourselves to the principals of justice and 
     liberty for all--and to Remembrance--now and forever.

[[Page E954]]



               TRIBUTE TO WARREN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

                                 ______


                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 1996

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Warren County 
Community College on the dedication of its newly completed academic and 
student services building--the college's first permanent home of its 
own.
  Dedication of this new facility is only the latest in a series of 
milestones in the short but busy history of Warren County Community 
College. The college had its beginnings in the formation of a citizens 
committee in 1975 by the Warren County Board of Freeholders. The 
committee was charged with studying the need for a community college. 
In 1981, the Freeholders authorized creation of the college and 
appointed the initial members of the board of trustees. Authorization 
of offer degree programs came in 1987 and the first commencement was 
held in 1988, 13 years after the committee began its work. Full 
accreditation followed in 1993.
  During these years, Warren County Community College operated as a 
``college without walls,'' offering classes at various locations 
throughout the county. In 1987, a 20,000-square-foot building was 
leased to provide specialized facilities dedicated for student use such 
as computer rooms, science laboratories, a bookstore, and library. With 
more than 1,200 students, however, the rapid growth of the college made 
a permanent home necessary. Plans were laid for a permanent campus in 
the 175-acre Educational Park on Route 57 in Franklin, home also of the 
Warren County Vocational and Technical Institute and the Warren County 
Communications Center.
  Groundbreaking took place in March 1994 and the academic and student 
services building was ready for an open house this March. This 
weekend's ceremony marks the official dedication.
  I would like to extend my personal congratulations to President 
Vincent De Sanctis. Dr. De Sanctis, as much as anyone, has been 
responsible for the growth and success of Warren County Community 
College. His strong leadership and vision have given this institution 
of higher learning the direction and inspiration necessary for success. 
I would also like to congratulate the board of trustees, 
administration, faculty, staff, and students on this monumental 
occasion. A college is built of minds and the quest for knowledge, not 
bricks and mortar. But a building of its own gives the sense of 
permanence and tangible existence that will inspire further endeavors 
toward academic excellence.
  The dedication this weekend, Saturday, June 1, will coincide with the 
college's ninth commencement. The class of 1996 may not have been able 
to enjoy the new building. But they will carry something with them that 
is much more valuable: In the words of the college motto, ``Education 
That Lasts a Lifetime.''

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