[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E518-E519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMMEMORATING HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSS CARNAHAN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 13, 2010

  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, on Sunday, April 11, 2010, the world 
paused to remember the Holocaust, which took the lives of six million 
Jews across Europe along with six million other victims of Nazi 
persecution, devastated societies, destroyed families, and forever left 
an unconscionable mark upon humanity.
  Holocaust Remembrance Day is an opportunity to solemnly reflect upon 
this historic tragedy and memorialize the millions of innocent lives 
lost in the greatest campaign of terror the world has ever seen. It is 
an opportunity to remember the atrocities of the past, but also a 
chance to recall that we must never forget.

[[Page E519]]

  Holocaust Remembrance Day pays tribute to the unbreakable will of 
human beings to live in freedom and oppose despotism wherever it 
appears. It is a reminder of that pledge to never forget and never 
allow the unchecked cruelty of the Holocaust to be repeated by firmly 
recommitting ourselves to the fight against anti-Semitism, as well as 
all forms of persecution, bigotry, discrimination and hatred.
  In 1993, on the 50th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, for 
which Holocaust Remembrance Day was designated, then-Israeli Prime 
Minister Yitzhak Rabin noted that despite the fall of Hitler ``his 
successors have arisen in various corners of the world.'' Sadly this 
statement remains true today.
  In too many regions of the world today we are still witnessing 
terrible mass violence, destruction and murder against women, children, 
ethnic and religious minorities, and lesbian, gay and transgender 
individuals, and many other groups of people. Reprehensibly, this 
violence and hatred is too often deeply institutionalized.
  Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as an opportunity to put on notice 
the brutal regimes carrying out these crimes that our resolve to defend 
universal human rights is profound and unwavering. As long as it is 
necessary we will continue to fight to end intolerance and work toward 
a more just future for all of mankind, and we stand with supreme 
confidence that we will be triumphant.
  The statesman and philosopher, Edmund Burke, famously said that ``The 
only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do 
nothing.'' Today we remember the Holocaust because many good men and 
women stood up for justice and acted to stop Nazi cruelty, and their 
sacrifice must forever be honored. We remember because the spirit of 
humanity refused to succumb to evil and be dominated by hatred. And we 
remember because in remembering the past we can work toward a better 
future; a future of equality, freedom, peace and prosperity.

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