[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CAROLYN McCARTHY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate 
Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Martyr's and Heroes Remembrance Day. I join the 
people of Israel and those around the world to memorialize the 6 
million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during World War II.
  In 1933, there were over 9 million European Jews. By 1945, close to 
two out of every three had been killed as part of the Nazi's Final 
Solution. European cities have never recovered the diversity and way of 
life they had prior to the war. The Jewish people killed were teachers, 
lawyers, doctors, musicians, parents, and children. These innocents 
were killed because they were Jewish and targeted for no other reason, 
they were no different from you or I.
  There are few Holocaust survivors alive and it is important for them 
to share their stories and educate people about the Holocaust, here and 
abroad. Over 50 years have passed since the Holocaust but anti-Semitism 
still exists. There has been an upsurge of anti-Semitism overseas and 
it must stop before there are further extreme acts.
  We must also remember the others who were murdered for being 
different. Gypsies, the handicapped, and Poles were also targeted for 
destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. 
Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet 
prisoners of war, and political dissidents, also suffered grievous 
oppression and death under Nazi tyranny for no specific reason except 
they were different.
  The Holocaust was not an accident. It was a planned attempted 
extermination. Individuals, organizations and governments made choices 
that not only legalized discrimination but also allowed prejudice, 
hatred, and ultimately, mass murder to occur. As a global society we 
must work to ensure something like this does not occur again.
  We will never forget.

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