[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 60 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE SIMON WIESENTHAL HOLOCAUST EDUCATION ACT

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 5, 2011

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate Holocaust Remembrance 
Week, I am pleased to reintroduce the bipartisan Simon Wiesenthal 
Holocaust Education Act, along with Representatives Ackerman, 
Pierluisi, Berkley, Hastings, Rangel, Waxman, Deutch, and Grimm. In 
keeping with the 2011 Holocaust Remembrance Week theme of ``Justice and 
Accountability in the Face of Genocide: What Have We Learned?'', it is 
important to provide educational opportunities for the youth of our 
Nation to understand the responsibility we all share for the human 
rights of others.
  Named for the honored Holocaust survivor who spent his life working 
for justice for those murdered by the Nazis and to hunt down those who 
perpetrated such atrocities, this legislation would provide federal 
grants to educational organizations to teach students about the 
Holocaust. Through grants from the Department of Education, Holocaust 
organization programs would be able to apply for funds to improve the 
awareness and understanding of the Holocaust through classes, seminars, 
conferences, educational materials, and teacher training.
  As the generations who survived the Holocaust pass away, we must 
ensure that we learn from their legacy and that it is remembered and 
honored. Over 11 million people, including 6 million European Jews as 
well as gypsies, the disabled and mentally ill, homosexuals, and 
others, were systematically and brutally murdered in the Holocaust as 
the Nazis swept across Europe, destroying entire villages and 
communities.
  More than half a century later, persecution and murder on the basis 
of religion, ethnicity, and sexuality continue across the globe. We 
need programs in our schools that allow students to learn about the 
consequences of intolerance and hate, so that we can truly say, ``never 
again.''
  The Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Education Assistance Act is a positive 
step toward that end. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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