Hoyer Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today in observance ofYom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day:

“Today, we pause and reflect on the tragedy and inhumanity of the Holocaust and remember the Nazis’ 11 million innocent victims – including 6 million Jews and their vibrant communities that had enriched Europe for centuries.  We also celebrate the heroism of the rescuers and resisters who defied the Nazis and risked their lives to fulfill the ancient, scriptural precept that we must love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 

“With the generation of those who survived the death camps, forced labor, and ghettos fading into history, the task of bearing witness and preserving the lessons of the Shoah must be our charge.   An important part of doing so is to remind the world why the safety, security, and peace of the Jewish people in their ancient homeland – and the close relationship between the United States and the State of Israel – is the strongest insurance against the Nazis’ crimes ever being repeated.  The world must also stand firmly against anti-Semitism in our own day, which has flared in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere.

“I was proud to take part in a ceremony today at the U.S. Capitol as part of America’s enduring commitment to keeping the memory of Shoah victims alive.  We must continue to root out the evils of discrimination, bigotry, and hatred wherever they exist, and let us remain steadfast in promoting the values of tolerance, amity, and respect upon which our nation was founded – and without which democracy and peace cannot be achieved or sustained.”