Hoyer Statement on the Passing of Elie Wiesel

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement on the passing of Elie Wiesel: 

"Elie Wiesel endured the greatest evil but from it drew strength to perform the greatest good. From the dark inhumanity of the Nazi death camps, he emerged with a determination to stamp out racism, xenophobia, and intolerance wherever they could be found. I was deeply saddened to learn of his passing. 

"Among the world's most powerful literary and moral voices against genocide and a pioneer of Shoah remembrance, Wiesel reminded us all that we each have a responsibility to ensure that 'Never Again' never becomes an empty promise. With the generation of Shoah survivors fading into history, the task of remembrance falls now on our shoulders, and America has a special role to play. Upon accepting the Congressional Gold Medal in 1985, Wiesel thanked the American troops who liberated him from Buchenwald and called his adopted country 'the greatest democracy in the world, the freest nation in the world, the moral nation, the authority in the world.'  As Chairman of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, he led the effort to build the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum here in Washington, which stands as a powerful reminder to the world of America's commitment to Shoah remembrance, genocide prevention, and the safety of Israel and the Jewish people. 

"When l worked to promote U.S. intervention to stop the genocides in Bosnia in the 1990's and in Darfur in the 2000's, I was inspired by Elie Wiesel and his commitment to the same cause. In 1995, he said of America's pursuit of an end to the killing in Bosnia: 'A great nation owes its greatness not only to its military power, but also to its moral consciousness, awareness. What would future generations say about us, all of us here in this land, if we do nothing?' 

"Though night has now fallen on Elie Wiesel, thanks to his extraordinary life the memory of millions of Shoah and genocide victims will never fade into darkness but project a light that will surely guide us to a more just and peaceful future."