[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19378-19379]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS IN WARSAW, 
                                 POLAND

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of a 
Resolution which I cosponsored, and which was introduced today, 
recognizing the establishment of the Museum of the History of Polish 
Jews in Warsaw, Poland. This museum celebrates 900 years of Jewish life 
in Poland and commemorates the millions of Polish Jews killed during 
World War II.
  The Holocaust proved to be one of the most horrendous offenses 
against humanity. In total, an estimated 6,000,000 Jews, more than 60 
percent of the pre-World War II Jewish population of Europe, were 
murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators in Poland and throughout 
Europe.
  As the epicenter for European Jewish culture and arts, Poland was 
home to 3.3 million Jews prior to World War II. The Nazis established 
their largest concentration camp in Poland at Auschwitz, At a minimum, 
1.3 million people were deported to the camp between 1940 and 1945, and 
at least 1.1 million were murdered there.
  I applaud and commend the Government of Poland's support of the 
Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, and its commitment to 
Holocaust education. In addition, the philanthropic efforts by a number 
of companies and organizations cannot be ignored.
  Mr. Speaker, we must never forget the tragic events that led up to 
the Holocaust and we must urge all countries and all peoples to 
strengthen their efforts to fight against racism, anti-Semitism and 
intolerance around the globe.
  If we do not remain committed to teaching the lessons of the 
Holocaust for future generations, then history will be doomed to repeat 
itself. The Museum of the History of Polish Jews serves as an important 
element to ensure future generations will remember the 900 years of 
Jewish culture in Poland and their sacrifices.

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