[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 61 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING YOM HaSHOAH--HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

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                     HON. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 28, 2014

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Yom 
HaShoah--Holocaust Remembrance Day.
  Almost 70 years ago, the worst genocide in modern human history was 
exposed to the entire world and the murder of six million Jews and 
other political, religious, and social minorities was forever seared 
into the collective memory of humankind. In the face of such an 
unimaginable tragedy, many individuals, including myself, have vowed to 
not only never allow something so heinous to occur again--we promised 
to never let the spirit of those victims fade from our hearts and from 
our minds.
  It is in that vein that I have personally and professionally 
dedicated myself to issues such as providing Holocaust survivors with 
adequate financial and social services so that they may live in 
dignity, the dignity that was stolen from them decades ago. As a Jew, a 
policymaker, and a representative of one of the largest survivor 
populations in the United States, I have undertaken such issues with 
pride and humility.
  This week is a particularly moving one as we engage in the National 
Remembrance Days here at the U.S. Capitol, and look forward to the 
planting of a sapling from the horse chestnut tree that was visible to 
Anne Frank and about which she wrote so poignantly in her diary while 
in hiding. Such a meaningful ceremony is particularly fitting in light 
of this year's Remembrance Days theme: Confronting the Holocaust: 
American Responses. What better way to further our American response 
than by planting a sapling that inspired her during her darkest days at 
the seat of our democracy? The tree will remind Members, staff, and the 
millions of annual visitors to the Capitol that life, liberty, and 
freedom from persecution are enduring ideals of our common humanity 
that we will never cease fighting for and protecting.

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