[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E890-E891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  REMARKS BY BENJAMIN MEED ON THE OCCASION OF THE DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE 
                  CEREMONY IN THE U.S. CAPITOL ROTUNDA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 1997

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, today at a most moving ceremony in the 
Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, Members of Congress, members of the 
Diplomatic Corps, representatives of the Executive and Judicial 
branches, and hundreds of survivors of the Holocaust and their friends 
gathered to commemorate the National Days of Remembrance.
  The theme of this year's Days of Remembrance commemoration was ``From 
Holocaust to New Life.'' This remarkable ceremony celebrated the lives 
and legacy of those who survived those darkest days, triumphed with 
hope and compassion. One of those survivors was my dear friend, 
Benjamin Meed, who serves as chairman of the Days of Remembrance 
Committee. Ben has dedicated his life to keeping the lessons and 
memories of the Holocaust alive. I encourage my colleagues to read 
Benjamin Meed's outstanding remarks from today's ceremony.

       Justice Scalia, distinguished Ambassadors, Members of the 
     United States Senate and House of Representatives, fellow 
     survivors, ladies and gentleman:
       When we, survivors of the Holocaust, see the American flag 
     and the flag of the United

[[Page E891]]

     States Army that liberated the concentration camps march into 
     this hall, we feel pride as Americans. They are symbols of 
     hope and freedom--and may they always be. We feel gratitude 
     for this great nation, and a strong sense of hope for the 
     future.
       Half a century ago, a continent away from these beautiful 
     shores and worlds away from the reality we share today, the 
     American army began entering some of the Nazi German 
     concentration camps. Those brave soldiers came too late for 
     many, yet just in time for some.
       We will remain forever grateful to our liberators.
       Over fifty years ago we survivors were considered 
     ``displaced persons.'' The cities of our youth had changed. 
     The streets were familiar, but where were our mothers and 
     fathers, sisters and brothers, and especially our children? 
     Please imagine more than a million children murdered. Not 
     even a trace of the once vibrant Jewish life remained. We had 
     endured the worst reign of tyranny and murder in history. We 
     became refugees determined to build a future in freedom, to 
     go on with lives which had been so cruelly interrupted.
       For many, Israel offered an answer--the promise to change 
     our destiny and a symbol of defiance to those who would have 
     us disappear. For others, America offered freedom and the 
     promise of good future. Most of us came here with little more 
     than the clothing on our backs. Vladka and I came with eight 
     dollars in our possession.
       Today, survivors are found in every State of the Union and 
     in every walk of life--we are artists and musicians, lawyers 
     and doctors, writers and philosophers, philanthropists and 
     industrialists, rabbis and teachers.
       Our children, conceived in freedom, nurtured on two great 
     traditions--Jewish and American--have taken their own places 
     in this country's life. Survivors as well as their children 
     have served in the House and Senate, in the White House and 
     in the Cabinet, on the Bench and in the United Nations.
       Survivors have become witnesses. We share our memories with 
     others. We believe that in remembrance lies hope and the 
     protection of another generation who might otherwise be 
     abandoned and forgotten--even tortured and killed. The 
     Holocaust was unparalleled and unique but its lessons are 
     universal.
       Survivors have not demanded vengeance, but rather 
     remembrance. Survivors helped to establish the United States 
     Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Without the 
     involvement and dedication of survivors, institutions of 
     remembrance would not have been built in Houston, Dallas, Los 
     Angeles, Miami, Boston, Chicago and Montreal, to name only a 
     few. Without the help of survivors, the Days of Remembrance 
     would not have entered the American consciousness.
       Survivors can speak today of achievement. Look at us and 
     see the power of the those whose answer to death was love and 
     hope. We have lived three lives--before, during and after the 
     Holocaust. We have traversed years, continents and worlds. We 
     have witnessed horror and death, courage, and determination, 
     faith in the future and respect of the past. We have spent a 
     half century uniting the different threads of our lives into 
     a fabric that is whole.
       All that we have seen, all that we have done, all that we 
     created, is for a purpose. To bear witness. We hope that 
     future generations of Americans will remember and use the 
     power of this vision to protect people everywhere.
       Rooted in a past that was shattered, we have become a cry 
     of conscience to the world and a voice determined to create a 
     future that is worthy of our journey to hell and back--from 
     darkness to light, from tyranny to freedom, from Holocaust to 
     new life.
       We have rebuilt our lives not because our losses can be 
     replaced, but so our call will be heeded by those future 
     generations whose losses can yet be prevented. We say to you, 
     and through you them--more urgently now, for each day we are 
     fewer--remember with us.
       Thank you.