[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 15 (Thursday, January 29, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S615-S616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ AND BIRKENAU

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I take this time to bring to my 
colleagues' attention that January 27 represented the 70th anniversary 
of the liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau--Auschwitz, the 
concentration camp that became a death camp; and Birkenau, a death 
camp, located in Poland, that was liberated by the Allied Forces on 
January 27, 1945.
  There were 1.3 million Jews, Poles, and other minorities who were 
deported to Auschwitz and Birkenau between 1940 and 1945. Of that 1.3 
million, 1.1 million died in these camps.
  I had a chance in 2004 to visit both Auschwitz and Birkenau, and it 
was emotionally draining. It was a site that is hard to imagine, to see 
the cruelty and the barbaric activities of humans against other humans. 
From looking at the rooms in which medical experiments were done on 
human beings, who ultimately died, to seeing the gas chambers, it very 
much affected my perspective on humanity and life.
  In the United States we are blessed. I can practice my religion and 
don't have to fear losing my head. I can disagree with my government 
and know I am not going to be locked up for doing it. We should never 
take those liberties for granted. I think our freedoms give us a 
special responsibility to make sure that when we say never again, that 
it becomes a reality, that it becomes real.
  We also have a responsibility to remember the victims of the 
Holocaust. In the Jewish religion, we have Yom Hashoah, a separate day 
set aside to recognize that. We need to learn from the survivors. I 
will always remember the times I had a chance to talk to Leo Bretholz. 
He was a constituent of mine who escaped the trains taking him to 
Auschwitz. He was an inspiration to all of us who learned more about 
the circumstances surrounding the Holocaust. Unfortunately, he passed 
away last year. Leo advocated for the repatriation of victims, 
particularly from the French railway SNCF, and we were ultimately 
successful in getting those funds.
  This all underscores the importance of Holocaust education. When we 
say never again, let's always remember what happened over 70 years ago 
under Nazi rule. Let's have Holocaust education so young people 
understand the consequences of the cruelty and the consequences of not 
getting engaged.
  Let's also help the survivors. I very much want to acknowledge that 
in the United States we have many survivors from the Holocaust, and 
over half of them live under the Federal poverty line. They are so 
fearful of being institutionalized, and we can understand that. I thank 
Senator Mikulski and the appropriators for putting money in the omnibus 
appropriations bill last year to help provide assistance so these 
survivors can get the services they are entitled to under our law. 
Sometimes they can't work their way through it. I was proud to help in 
those efforts.
  I also thank Vice President Biden for his leadership in the Obama 
administration.
  I thank those on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee 
in the Older Americans Act reauthorization that was acted on this week 
because they include services for Holocaust survivors so that they will 
have easier access to government services.
  Lastly, let me thank Senators Mikulski and Kirk. I joined both of 
them in a Senate resolution to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 
liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau. The Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee that I serve on unanimously approved that resolution for 
consideration on

[[Page S616]]

the Senate floor, and I thank Senators Corker and Menendez for their 
help.
  As I think most Members of this body know, I have been an active 
participant in the Helsinki Commission. I am the democratic leader, 
working with Senator Wicker. The Helsinki Commission is known for its 
participation in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in 
Europe, but I think it is best known because we put a spotlight on 
human rights issues. We try to live up to that motto ``never again.'' 
We try to say we will not let violations of basic human rights go 
unchallenged.
  So on this 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and 
Birkenau, which are the iconic symbols today of the Holocaust, let's 
rededicate ourselves to making sure that ``never again'' becomes a 
reality.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise first to thank my colleague from 
Maryland for his eloquent words on the Holocaust and the survivors of 
the Holocaust and the compelling voices that came out of those death 
camps.
  In addition, my colleague has always been a champion for human 
rights, whether it is on the Helsinki Commission, whether it is his 
advocacy to let Soviet Jews get out of the Soviet Union. Where people 
are repressed or facing attacks or persecution, he has always been on 
their side, and also actually meeting with the Holocaust survivors in 
our own community to bring a lot of attention to what we can do and to 
actually putting money in the Federal checkbook.
  With all that effort at survival and making it to the United States, 
the survivors of the Holocaust, who were children then and would now be 
in their eighties and nineties--imagine that--should not live in 
poverty, they should not fear institutionalization, and they should not 
fear destitution. So I thank my colleague for his advocacy, and I look 
forward to working with him on this and also say ``never again.''

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