[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 70 (Thursday, April 28, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4578-H4579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Green) for 5 minutes.
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, and still I rise, a proud,
liberated Democrat.
I rise today on this occasion of remembrance, remembrance of the
victims of the Holocaust. I rise to associate myself with comments that
have been made by others.
I would first note for the Record that there was a joint resolution
approved on September 18, 1978, a joint resolution designating April 28
and 29 of 1979 as Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust.
President Carter, who signed H.J. Res. 1014, Public Law 95-371,
approved on September 18, 1978, indicated in a public statement, ``The
resolution was passed unanimously by both Houses of Congress. This
reflects our Nation's wholehearted conviction that the lessons of the
Holocaust must never be forgotten.''
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge and associate myself with a statement
from President Joe Biden, dated April 22, 2022. It is styled, ``A
Proclamation on Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust,
2022.''
In this statement, he indicates, among many other things that I
associate myself with, ``The world must never forget the truth of what
happened across Europe during the Holocaust or forget the horrific
crimes and suffering the Nazi regime inflicted on millions''--I
underscore it by saying it twice--``millions of innocent people.''
A Proclamation on Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust, 2022
On Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and throughout
this week of remembrance, we reflect on the horrors of the
Holocaust when the Nazi regime systematically murdered 6
million Jews and millions of other innocents, including Roma,
Sinti, Slavs, persons with disabilities, LGBTQI+ individuals,
political dissidents, and many others. We stand with Jewish
people in the United States, Israel, and around the world in
grieving one of the darkest chapters in history. We honor the
memories of the victims. We embrace the survivors. We commit
to keeping alive the promise of ``never again.''
The world must never forget the truth of what happened
across Europe during the Holocaust or forget the horrific
crimes and suffering the Nazi regime inflicted on millions of
innocent people. Entire families were wiped out. Communities
were shattered. Survivors were left with agonizing memories
and fading tattoos etched into their skin by the Nazis,
reducing them to numbers. It is forever recorded into the
history of mankind, and it is the shared responsibility of us
all to ensure that the Shoah is never erased from our
collective memory--especially as fewer and fewer survivors
remain. The truth must always be known and shared with future
generations in perpetuity.
I have taught my own children and grandchildren about the
horrors of the Holocaust, just as my father taught me. I have
taken my family to bear witness to the darkness at the Dachau
concentration camp so that they could understand why we must
always speak out against antisemitism and hatred in all of
its pernicious forms. The legacy of the Holocaust must always
remind us that silence in the face of such bigotry is
complicity.
Remembrance is our eternal duty, but remembrance without
action risks becoming an empty ritual. As individuals, we
must never be indifferent to human cruelty and human
suffering. As nations, we must stand together across the
international community against antisemitism, which is once
again rearing its ugly head around the world. We must combat
other forms of hatred and educate new generations about the
Holocaust. We must reject those who try to deny the Holocaust
or to distort its history for their own ends. We recognize
that, just as the Holocaust was an act of pure antisemitism,
so too Holocaust denial is a form of antisemitism. We watch
with dismay as the term ``Nazi'' is deployed to make flawed
historical parallels. Efforts to minimize, distort, or blur
who the Nazis were and the genocide they perpetrated are a
form of Holocaust denial and, in addition to insulting both
the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, spread
antisemitism.
My Administration has stepped up our efforts to counter all
the ugly forms antisemitism can take, including Holocaust
denial and distortion. We co-sponsored a United Nations
resolution that charged the international community with
combating Holocaust denial through education. We are
partnering with the German government to improve Holocaust
education and counter Holocaust denial and distortion. A
renowned scholar of the Holocaust and antisemitism, Deborah
Lipstadt, was recently confirmed as Special Envoy to Monitor
and Combat Antisemitism.
In addition to speaking out against the evils of
antisemitism, I signed--and my Administration continues to
implement--legislation that gives us more tools to combat
crimes that are based on a victim's actual or perceived race,
religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender
identity or disability. We issued the first-ever National
Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism. My Administration
has implemented increased funding for a program that helps
threatened nonprofits--including houses of worship and other
religious affiliated entities--to improve their safety and
security. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, I met
with Bronia Brandman and the Vice President met with Ruth
Cohen--both Auschwitz survivors--at the White House so we
could bear witness to their stories, combat Holocaust denial
and distortion, and give life to the lessons of that most
terrible period in human history.
Those like Bronia and Ruth who survived the Holocaust and
went on to build new lives inspire our Nation and the world,
and they are living testaments to the enduring resilience of
the human spirit. It is the responsibility of all of us to
recognize the pain that they carry and to support them by
ensuring that the cruelty of the Holocaust is never
forgotten. Today and every day, we stand against antisemitism
and all other forms of hate and continue our work to ensure
that everyone can live in a world that safeguards the
fundamental human dignity of all people.
Now, Therefore, I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested
in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States,
do hereby proclaim April 24 through May 1, 2022, as a week of
observance of the Days of Remembrance of Victims of the
Holocaust, and call upon the people of the United States to
observe this week and pause to remember victims and survivors
of the Holocaust.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise to place in the Record a
statement from Speaker Pelosi styled, ``Pelosi Statement on Holocaust
Remembrance Day.'' Among the many things said that I agree with is this
statement: ``This occasion serves as a reminder of the profound danger
posed by hateful violence when met with indifference.'' Hateful
violence when met with indifference.
Pelosi Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day
``On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to reflect on the
unfathomable evils of the Shoah. As we mourn the six million
Jews and countless others murdered across Europe, we also
honor the survivors who have bravely shared their stories so
that such atrocities may never be repeated. More than seven
decades later, we remain outraged by the Nazis' barbaric
crimes and unwavering in our commitment to fulfilling
humanity's sacred promise: Never Again.
``This occasion serves as a reminder of the profound danger
posed by hateful violence when met with indifference. In
2020, I had the solemn privilege of leading a Congressional
delegation to Poland and Israel to commemorate the 75th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, bearing witness
to hate's destructive consequences. The epidemic of
antisemitism still remains today, threatening Jewish
communities both at home and around the world. Shadows of
these same dark forces have reached into more communities,
from the surge of bigoted violence across the country to
crimes against humanity being perpetrated abroad, including
against Ukraine.
``Our nation must never fail to call out and defeat these
perilous threats wherever and whenever they arise. In 1943,
my father Thomas D'Alesandro appealed to `the American sense
of justice and decency' as he implored the Roosevelt
Administration to take action against the horrors of the
Holocaust. Today, driven by those fundamental American
values, the Congress is working to preserve our collective
memories of the past, educate the next generation and speak
out against all of hate's vile manifestations. Congressional
action has helped forge a safer, more just society: from
combating antisemitism by strengthening Holocaust education
resources and establishing Congressionally mandated Days of
Remembrance to fighting hate-fueled violence by enacting the
COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and the Emmett Till Antilynching
Act.
Today, joining with House colleagues to honor those
murdered in the Shoah, I recalled the moving words inscribed
on San Francisco's Holocaust Memorial: `In remembrance is the
secret of redemption.' Let us
[[Page H4579]]
reflect on that truth as we seek to find redemption in a
future of dignity and justice for all. May we never forget
the horrors inflicted on so many innocent souls, and may we
never relent in our righteous fight to put an end to the
scourge of hate.''
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise and desire that the
statement from Majority Leader Hoyer be acknowledged. His statement is
styled, ``Hoyer Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day.'' And I
associate myself with many of the things in this statement, but the
thing that I want to associate myself with the most are the final words
in his statement: ``Never Forget. Never Again.'' I associate myself
with his statement.
Hoyer Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day
``On Yom HaShoah, we remember the six million Jews and
millions of others murdered by the Nazis during the
Holocaust. The genocide perpetrated by Adolf Hitler and his
fascist collaborators--and enabled by the indifference of
millions of people in Germany and across Europe--continues to
bear scars to this day, with the families of victims and
survivors still living with immense trauma and grief. The
Holocaust was not only an immeasurable tragedy for the Jewish
people; it was also a low point for humanity, when the worst
evils of human hatred were unleashed in a way that was
methodical and on an industrial scale in an effort to
dehumanize and destroy an entire ethnic group. First by
enacting degrading racial laws and forcing Jewish people to
live in squalid ghettos and wear identifying marks for the
purposes of ostracism and discrimination, and later through a
systematic program of either deportation to labor and death
camps or the massacre of entire communities by mobile killing
squads, the Nazis taught the world a lesson on what happens
when antisemitism and other forms of racism and bigotry are
allowed to fester unchecked and are taken to their extreme.
Every human being who inhabits our planet has a
responsibility to learn the lessons of the Holocaust because
it is a warning to all of humanity. `Never Again!' must be a
promise kept by all. ``Terrifyingly, however, we are now
seeing in our day a dangerous rise in violent antisemitism
here at home and around the world. Extremists of all kinds
have revived Nazi tropes, and too many make light of Adolf
Hitler and the reality of his crimes against humanity. There
ought to be no celebration or even condoning of him or those
who helped him perpetrate the Holocaust. At the same time,
some have chosen to invoke the Holocaust flippantly when
engaging in debates about policy, which is not only deeply
inappropriate but also insulting to its victims, its
survivors, and their families. In much the same vein, the
misuse of the Holocaust and Nazism by Vladimir Putin in an
attempt to justify his unjustifiable and criminal invasion of
Ukraine--as well as the disgusting misuse of the Holocaust to
criticize the Jewish State of Israel, a democracy based in
human rights and the rule of law--is a cynical and disturbing
effort to twist history upside down. Together, all who
support truth and cherish human rights and human dignity must
oppose such statements and efforts.
``The Nazis tried to destroy the Jewish people, but their
resilience, defiance, and heroism--and the sacrifices of so
many brave American servicemembers who were liberators and
rescuers--overcame Hitler's evil plans. Today, the success
and vibrancy of the State of Israel and the flourishing of
Jewish communities in America and around the world is a
living testament to Nazism's defeat and to the triumph of
justice. I'm proud to be the Majority Leader in a House that
affirms, again and again, that antisemitism has no place in
our country or in our politics--and to continue serving as a
leader in the broad, bipartisan coalition in Congress
ensuring that our ally Israel remains safe and strong and
that America and Israel can be successful together in rooting
out hatred, injustice, and antisemitism on Earth. ``Never
Forget. Never Again.''
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I have Jewish friends, as I
believe most people do, and I have spoken to them about the horrors of
the Holocaust. I have been to Israel, and I have been to Yad Vashem. I
assure you, a visit to Yad Vashem can become a seminal moment in your
life because of what it shows with clarity about the horrors of the
Holocaust.
I am so proud that our leadership has gone on record in remembrance,
and I am proud that this Congress passed a resolution signed by
President Carter initially for days of remembrance.
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