STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT OBAMA ON INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
January 27, 2015
Statement by the President on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

On the tenth International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the American people pay tribute to the six million Jews and millions of others murdered by the Nazi regime. We also honor those who survived the Shoah, while recognizing the scars and burdens that many have carried ever since.

Honoring the victims and survivors begins with our renewed recognition of the value and dignity of each person. It demands from us the courage to protect the persecuted and speak out against bigotry and hatred. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris serve as a painful reminder of our obligation to condemn and combat rising anti-Semitism in all its forms, including the denial or trivialization of the Holocaust.

This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made confronting this terrible chapter in human history and on our continuing efforts to end genocide. I have sent a Presidential delegation to join Polish President Komorowski, the Polish people, official delegations from scores of nations, and many survivors, at today’s official commemoration in Poland.

As a founding member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the United States joins the Alliance’s thirty other member nations and partners in reiterating its solemn responsibility to uphold the commitments of the 2000 Stockholm Declaration. We commemorate all of the victims of the Holocaust, pledging never to forget, and recalling the cautionary words of the author and survivor of Auschwitz Primo Levi, “It happened, therefore it can happen again. . . . It can happen anywhere.” Today we come together and commit, to the millions of murdered souls and all survivors, that it must never happen again.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
Statement by the President on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Each year on this day the world comes together to commemorate a barbaric crime unique in human history.  We recall six million Jews and millions of other innocent victims who were murdered in Nazi death camps.  We mourn lives cut short and communities torn apart.

Yet even on a day of solemn remembrance, there is room for hope.  For January 27th is also the day Auschwitz was liberated 69 years ago.  The noble acts of courage performed by liberators, rescuers, and the Righteous Among Nations remind us that we are never powerless.  In our lives, we always have choices.  In our time, this means choosing to confront bigotry and hatred in all of its forms, especially anti-Semitism.  It means condemning any attempts to deny the occurrence of the Holocaust.  It means doing our part to ensure that survivors receive some measure of justice and the support they need to live out their lives in dignity.

On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Michelle and I join the American people and our friends in the State of Israel and around the world as we reaffirm our obligation not just to bear witness, but to act.  May God bless the memory of the millions, and may God grant us the strength and courage to make real our solemn vow: Never forget.  Never again.