Posted: | January 2, 2025 11:09 AM |
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From: | Senator Steven J. Santarsiero and Sen. Judith L. Schwank |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Recognizing January 27, 2025, as "International Holocaust Remembrance Day" in Pennsylvania |
Between 1933 and 1945, nearly 17 million people tragically lost their lives in the horrifying, bureaucratic genocide known as the Holocaust. Due to overwhelming anti-Semitic propaganda circulated by the German Nazi regime, over 6 million of those victims were Jewish men, women, and children; this loss accounted for two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. The Holocaust was a human rights crisis of epic proportions. In recognition of the liberation of the largest and deadliest concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, on January 27, 1945, the United Nations designated this date as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is a day to not only remember and mourn the lives that were lost, but a day in which we take a stand against all forms of ethnic or religion-based intolerance, incitement, harassment, hateful discourses and violence against individuals and communities. Studies have shown that a growing number of Americans lack basic knowledge of the Holocaust and the events leading up to it. Because of this, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is needed now more than ever. It is our collective responsibility to honor the lives of those who perished and those who survived, while continuing to educate and raise awareness of the horrors that countless victims suffered to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again. As such, we will be introducing a resolution recognizing this day in Pennsylvania. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important resolution which will not only pay remembrance to the victims of the Holocaust, but also reaffirm our unwavering commitment to countering all forms of intolerance. |
Introduced as SR10