[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 39 Agreed to House (ATH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 39
Commending countries and organizations for marking the 60th anniversary
of the liberation of Auschwitz and urging a strengthening of the fight
against racism, intolerance, bigotry, prejudice, discrimination, and
anti-Semitism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 25, 2005
Mr. Lantos (for himself, Mr. Hyde, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Hoyer,
Mr. Cantor, Mr. Tancredo, Mr. Ackerman, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Berman, Mr.
Brown of Ohio, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Cardin, Mr.
Cardoza, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Crowley, Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of
Virginia, Mr. Dent, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Engel, Mr. Etheridge,
Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Filner, Mr. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mr.
Gallegly, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hastings of
Florida, Mr. Israel, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Leach, Mr. Levin, Mr.
Lewis of Georgia, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr.
McCotter, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr.
Menendez, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Owens, Mr. Pallone, Mr.
Payne, Mr. Pence, Mr. Pitts, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Royce,
Mr. Saxton, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Schwartz of Pennsylvania,
Mr. Serrano, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr.
Terry, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Visclosky, Ms.
Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Weller, Mr. Wexler, Mr.
Wynn, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Honda, Ms.
Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Schwarz of Michigan,
and Ms. Watson) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on International Relations
January 25, 2005
The Committee on International Relations discharged; considered and
agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commending countries and organizations for marking the 60th anniversary
of the liberation of Auschwitz and urging a strengthening of the fight
against racism, intolerance, bigotry, prejudice, discrimination, and
anti-Semitism.
Whereas on January 27, 1945, the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, including
Birkenau and other related camps near the Polish city of Oswiecim, was
liberated by elements of the Soviet Army under the command of Field
Marshal Ivan Konev;
Whereas, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at a minimum
1,300,000 people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945, and
of these, at least 1,100,000 were murdered at that camp;
Whereas an estimated 6,000,000 Jews, more than 60 percent of the pre-World War
II Jewish population of Europe, were murdered by the Nazis and their
collaborators at Auschwitz and elsewhere in Europe;
Whereas in addition, hundreds of thousands of civilians of Polish, Roma, and
other nationalities, including in particular handicapped and retarded
individuals, homosexuals, political, intellectual, labor, and religious
leaders, all of whom the Nazis considered ``undesirable'', as well as
Soviet and other prisoners of war, perished at Auschwitz and elsewhere
in Europe;
Whereas the complex of concentration and death camps at Auschwitz has come to
symbolize the brutality and inhumanity of the Holocaust;
Whereas on January 24, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly, in response to
a resolution proposed by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, the
United States, and the European Union, convened its first-ever special
session marking the liberation of Auschwitz and other concentration
camps on the 60th anniversary of that event;
Whereas on January 27, 2005, the Government of Poland will host a state ceremony
at Auschwitz/Oswiecim, Poland, to mark the anniversary of the liberation
of the camps in which the Presidents of Israel, Germany, Poland, and
Russia, and the Vice President of the United States, and leaders of many
other countries will participate;
Whereas January 27 of each year is the official Holocaust Memorial Day in many
European countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy,
Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and has been designated by Israel as a
National Day to Combat Anti-Semitism; and
Whereas the Department of State in the Report on Global Anti-Semitism
transmitted to Congress in December 2004 noted that ``anti-Semitism in
Europe increased significantly in recent years'', ``Holocaust denial and
Holocaust minimization efforts'' have found increasingly overt
acceptance in a number of Middle Eastern countries, and anti-Semitism
has appeared ``in countries where historically or currently there are
few or even no Jews'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recalls with gratitude the sacrifices made by Allied
soldiers, as well as partisans and underground fighters, whose
service and dedication resulted in the defeat of the Nazi
regime and the liberation of Auschwitz and other concentration
camps during World War II;
(2) expresses gratitude to those individuals and
organizations that assisted and cared for the survivors of Nazi
brutality and helped those survivors establish new lives;
(3) commends those countries that are marking the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, as well as the
United Nations General Assembly and other international
organizations, for honoring the victims of the Holocaust and
using this tragic anniversary to increase awareness of the
Holocaust;
(4) urges all countries and peoples to strengthen their
efforts to fight against racism, intolerance, bigotry,
prejudice, discrimination, and anti-Semitism; and
(5) urges governments and educators throughout the world to
teach the lessons of the Holocaust in order that future
generations will understand that racial, ethnic, and religious
intolerance and prejudice can lead to the genocide carried out
in camps such as Auschwitz.
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