Hoyer Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day
Press Types
Press Release
For Immediate Release:
April 21, 2020
Contact Info:
Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom HaShoah:
“This year, as we mark Yom HaShoah and remember the six million Jews and millions of other victims of the Nazi Holocaust, we do so with a renewed determination to prevent genocide and stamp out bigotry wherever it lurks. The Holocaust did not happen overnight; genocide was not a sudden occurrence. It is critical to remember that it was the final phase of a long process of dehumanization, racial hatred, and discrimination. It began over centuries with the targeting of Jewish people as scapegoats for plagues, economic downturns, and natural disasters, culminating in a vile campaign of disinformation amid a period of economic uncertainty and despair in Germany and around the world in the 1930’s. We must be vigilant today, as we face our own uncertain times, to ensure that individuals and groups are not made scapegoats because of their race, their faith, or their national origin.
“As we remember the victims of Nazism and those heroes who resisted it, let us draw strength from the hardships they endured and the courage they showed. Let us find inspiration in their stories of survival and perseverance. Let us never forget the lessons of the Holocaust – both as we continue to support our ally Israel in its mission to build a safe haven for the Jewish people in their homeland and as we work to eradicate anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred and intolerance in our own country and throughout the world.”
“This year, as we mark Yom HaShoah and remember the six million Jews and millions of other victims of the Nazi Holocaust, we do so with a renewed determination to prevent genocide and stamp out bigotry wherever it lurks. The Holocaust did not happen overnight; genocide was not a sudden occurrence. It is critical to remember that it was the final phase of a long process of dehumanization, racial hatred, and discrimination. It began over centuries with the targeting of Jewish people as scapegoats for plagues, economic downturns, and natural disasters, culminating in a vile campaign of disinformation amid a period of economic uncertainty and despair in Germany and around the world in the 1930’s. We must be vigilant today, as we face our own uncertain times, to ensure that individuals and groups are not made scapegoats because of their race, their faith, or their national origin.
“As we remember the victims of Nazism and those heroes who resisted it, let us draw strength from the hardships they endured and the courage they showed. Let us find inspiration in their stories of survival and perseverance. Let us never forget the lessons of the Holocaust – both as we continue to support our ally Israel in its mission to build a safe haven for the Jewish people in their homeland and as we work to eradicate anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred and intolerance in our own country and throughout the world.”