[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               RECOGNIZING HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY 2012

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                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 17, 2012

  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
Days of Remembrance as our Nation's annual commemoration of the 
Holocaust. As you know, Congress designated this week-long observance 
in honor of the victims of the Holocaust and created the United States 
Holocaust Memorial Museum to serve as a permanent living memorial to 
them.
  This year's Remembrance week is April 15th through the 22nd, and 
communities throughout the country will observe this occasion with 
educational programs and other activities. I am pleased to share with 
my colleagues that the Fairfax County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors, 
in my district, is proclaiming April 22 as Holocaust Remembrance Day.
  It is important that we pause annually to reflect on the systemic 
persecution and annihilation of European Jews by Nazi Germany and its 
collaborators between 1933 and 1945. More than six million Jews were 
murdered during that period and countless others were targeted for 
oppression or destruction based on factors of race, ethnicity, 
religion, political affiliation, disability or sexual orientation. The 
atrocities of that era serve as a reminder for current and future 
generations about the moral responsibilities of individuals, societies 
and governments. This year's national theme, as selected by the museum, 
is ``Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue'' and seeks to capture that 
sentiment.
  Confronted with the cruelty against humanity taking place in front of 
them, many witnesses faced a choice of whether to intervene. Of course, 
doing so brought the risk of severe punishment, and, in some cases, 
death. Fear drove many to idly stand by, but there were many ordinary 
citizens who carried out extraordinary acts of courage on behalf of 
their fellow man, whether it was a government official who forged 
identity papers or the housewife and her daughter who hid a family in 
their attic. Ultimately the United States and the Allies, which later 
became the United Nations, prevailed over the Axis powers, preventing 
the further spread of their tyranny and evil.
  Mr. Speaker, commemorative events marking the Days of Remembrance are 
taking place here in our Nation's capital and in communities throughout 
the country. I hope my colleagues have an opportunity to take part in 
one of these observances. This is a time to stand in solidarity with 
our Jewish neighbors, the nation of Israel, and our allies across the 
globe to once again rekindle awareness of this terrible tragedy in 
world history and to rededicate ourselves to never allowing such acts 
to happen again.

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