Ambassador Richard Mills
Acting Representative
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, New York
January 25, 2021
AS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Thank you to the Park East Synagogue and Rabbi Arthur Schneier for hosting this Holocaust commemoration service and for convening us as we near the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Today, we gather to remember and mourn the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were abused, tortured, and murdered by a brutal Nazi regime and its collaborators who were intent on the extermination of the Jews. We also remember the millions of others who were persecuted and murdered because of their race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and we honor the survivors and those righteous individuals who risked their lives to save others.
With the rallying cry of “never again” the world has come together to develop mechanisms to prevent genocide and other atrocities and to hold perpetrators accountable. An important component of ensuring that such evils are not allowed to recur is educating current and future generations about the horrors of the Holocaust and the heroes who fought to end it.
With knowledge about the Holocaust diminishing with the passage of time and anti-Semitism alarmingly on the rise, we know that more needs to be done. Last May, the overwhelming bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress when adopting the Never Again Education Act recognizes these concerns. The Act directs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to develop and disseminate additional resources to promote better understanding of the Holocaust in the United States and provides funding for domestic Holocaust education programs through the Museum.
The United States is committed to advancing Holocaust education and working with the international community to increase Holocaust awareness. We are also committed to combating anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred, to preventing atrocities worldwide, and to bringing those responsible for atrocities to justice. By so doing, we hope to honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and make good on our promise of “never again”.
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