[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4501-S4502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING YOM HASHOAH, HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

  Mr. REID. Madam President, today, Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom 
Hashoah in Hebrew, is a day to give us pause. Today, we remember the 
horrific events of over half a century ago, when more than 6 million 
Jewish men, women, and children were targeted and systematically 
murdered, along with countless other victims of Nazi persecution. 
Today, we honor their memories and renew our commitment to stand up 
against prejudice and hatred in all its forms.
  In 1980, Congress passed legislation that would dedicate this week 
every year to Holocaust Remembrance, so that Americans all over our 
country could come together and pay tribute to those who perished, and 
to ensure their stories will never be forgotten. This same legislation 
created the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, a building that now stands 
in our Nation's Capital as a center of Holocaust education and learning 
and a memorial to its victims. Today, the names of some of those who 
perished will be read aloud in the Museum's Hall of Remembrance, and on 
Thursday, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel will join 
President Barack Obama and congressional leaders in a ceremony in the 
Capitol Rotunda.
  Even now, so many decades later, we continue to uncover more stories 
of untold brutality and terror during the Holocaust, as work by the 
International Institute for Holocaust Research at the Yad Vshem 
Holocaust Museum exposes new evidence of Nazi genocide. These little-
known cases are even more poignant today, as we consider the renewed 
struggle against anti-Semitism and continued denial by some of the 
State of Israel's very right to exist.
  Next week, on April 29, we will celebrate 61 years since the 
establishment of Israeli independence, and 61 years of unwavering U.S.-
Israeli friendship. Last year, I was proud to lead the Senate in 
adopting a bipartisan resolution to honor Israel in its achievement of 
60 years of statehood, and its resilience as a stronghold of democratic 
principles and freedoms in a volatile region. Although Israel remains 
under constant siege from neighboring states and terrorist groups, its 
unwavering dedication to these ideals and its proud history of survival 
demonstrate that Israel will endure and it will do so with the United 
States standing firmly by its side.
  Today, as we both remember those who perished in the Holocaust and 
look

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toward the coming celebration of Israel's independence, let us reflect 
upon the imperative we face. Since the establishment of the term 
``genocide'' in 1944, the terrible events in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, 
and now ongoing in Sudan have taught us what will continue to happen 
when hatred and persecution go unchecked. The day of Yom Hashoah calls 
upon each one of us to work individually and collectively to rededicate 
ourselves to overcoming intolerance, and--perhaps just as important--
indifference, wherever and whenever we encounter them.
  To the vibrant Jewish community that calls our great state of Nevada 
home, I wish you a joyous celebration of the 61st anniversary of 
Israeli independence, and I look forward to many more years of 
productive friendship between the United States and Israel. And to all 
who gather today and all of this week to pay tribute to the victims and 
survivors of the Holocaust, let us join together in honoring their 
memories and pledging to take up our shared mission of remembrance and 
action.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Madam President, I rise today for the solemn 
purpose of commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day.
  I just returned from an overseas visit with Senators Levin and 
Collins to examine missile defense issues in Russia, the Czech 
Republic, and Poland. In Poland, I visited the Warsaw Ghetto memorials, 
one of which was built on the location where the Jews were transported 
to the death camp at Treblinka, beginning in July 1942. I was moved by 
visiting that place. We saw another monument built to the heroes of the 
Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The death camps would not be liberated until 
1945, but we remember this courageous struggle against overwhelming 
odds.
  In America and throughout the world, Jews are observing this day in 
synagogues, reciting prayers. Young people listen to the testimonies of 
survivors who witnessed and were victims of the worst crimes committed 
by humankind, so that the Holocaust is not forgotten by future 
generations.
  Florida has the largest number of Holocaust survivors in the entire 
country. These survivors remind us that the Holocaust was a tragedy of 
almost unimaginable proportions.
  Today we remember those who lost their lives, not because of any 
crime they committed, but simply because of their faith and their 
heritage. And, though Jews were indeed the primary victims, we also 
remember the others who suffered persecution and were murdered by the 
Nazis: Gypsies and Poles, Jehovah's Witnesses, the handicapped, gays, 
political dissidents and Soviet prisoners of war.
  In addition to marking this day, we in Congress are doing what we can 
to ensure that we never forget what happened during the Holocaust and 
that it never happens again.
  Earlier this year, two of my distinguished colleagues, Senators 
Collins and Cardin, introduced an important resolution that I 
cosponsored, which condemns anti-Semitism in all its forms.
  In respect for the victims of the Holocaust and surviving relatives, 
I will introduce a resolution on restitution or compensation for 
property and other assets seized by the Nazi and Communist regimes in 
postwar Europe, in anticipation of the International Conference on 
Holocaust Assets that will be held in Prague at the end of June. This 
conference is a followup to the International Conference that was held 
10 years ago in Washington, which established the framework 
compensation programs that were established throughout western Europe 
during the past decade.
  I would point out that we still must determine how to address the 
cases of the remaining Holocaust victims who have yet to be compensated 
for the unpaid value of insurance policies they held before the war. I 
would support legislation that actually helps survivors to obtain just 
compensation and avoid dragging out compensation efforts or giving 
false hope to survivors.
  I will also be introducing the World War II War Crimes Accountability 
Act to encourage foreign governments to prosecute and extradite wanted 
criminals, and to bring them to justice.
  Despite the efforts of the U.S. Government, particularly the 
Department of Justice, and of groups such as the Simon Wiesenthal 
Center, a number of perpetrators of crimes against humanity remain at 
large. What is worse, we know exactly where some of the individuals are 
living, but the countries where they reside refuse to extradite them to 
face justice.
  We are in a race against time. Each year, more Holocaust survivors 
are laid to rest. Let us work together quickly to let them see a 
measure of justice done in their lifetime.
  Finally, our Government has made solemn commitments in the past that 
the horror of the Holocaust will never be repeated. And yet we are all 
well aware of the grim stories of ethnic cleansing in the former 
Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the mass murder of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, 
and now the ongoing genocide in Darfur. America as a nation must be a 
leader on the world stage to prevent genocide.
  I urge President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and UN Ambassador 
Rice to continue the battle against ignorance, intolerance, and 
instability that seem to contribute to genocide, and to confront those 
governments that engage in genocide. And America must make every effort 
to ensure that those who commit these horrific crimes face justice.

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