United States Mission to the United Nations
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
For Immediate Release
April 8, 2021
Statement by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on the Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust
As we commemorate Yom HaShoah, we honor the lives of six million Jewish men, women, and children who were systematically murdered in the Holocaust, and also remember the many others – including Roma, Slavs, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ persons – who were victims of Nazi persecution. We also pay tribute to those who survived the Shoah and summoned the strength to go on to grow families and vibrant communities throughout the world. From them, and from heroes like Irena Sendler who smuggled thousands of Jews out of the Warsaw Ghetto at great risk to her life, we take inspiration and reiterate our pledge of “never again.”
As part of our pledge, we must combat rising antisemitism and other forms of hatred worldwide. As President Biden highlighted in his Proclamation on Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust, “All of us must understand the depravity that is possible when governments back policies fueled by hatred, when we dehumanize groups of people, and when ordinary people decide that it is easier to look away or go along than to speak out.”
We must combat Holocaust denial and distortion. We must share the stories of Holocaust victims and survivors, Allied liberators, and heroes. And we must work to prevent atrocities and pursue justice for those who have suffered them, both past and present.
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