[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE HOLOCAUST

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 19, 2012

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solemn recognition of 
Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today marks the passage of almost 70 years 
since the unfathomable annihilation of six million Jewish men, women, 
and children from Europe. In addition to working to systematically 
eliminate the Jewish people, the Nazis also targeted other marginalized 
groups such as political opponents, the LGBT community, the Roma, 
Soviet prisoners of war, the disabled, and other religious minorities.
  The effort to remove, wholly and completely, from society certain 
categories of human beings because of their ethnic, political, 
religious, cultural, and biological characteristics was atrocious. 
While we honor the memory of the millions lost during the Holocaust and 
the millions more who were never born because of this unparalleled 
crime against humanity, we must learn from the past in order to ensure 
that the worst actions in history are never again repeated.
  On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is important not only to 
commemorate those who perished, but also those who refused to be 
bystanders to this grave human tragedy. We may take heart from the 
brave efforts of those who resisted the Nazi reign of terror, in the 
ghettos and the camps, from the cities to the countryside. We stand in 
awe of the rescuers who, against all odds and at great personal risk, 
demonstrated moral courage the world must honor, remember, and uphold 
as a model for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren.
  As individuals, communities, and as a nation, we must rededicate 
ourselves to ensuring that the world will never stand idly by in the 
face of mass atrocity. We must work to extinguish the sparks of hatred, 
intolerance, and violence wherever they may be found, while nurturing 
in ourselves and others the seeds of empathy and a resistance to the 
indifference that enabled the unthinkable destruction of human life 70 
years ago.
  Mr. Speaker, may we let this be our monument to the millions who 
perished in the Holocaust.

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