Pelosi Statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day:

"On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to reflect on the unfathomable evils of the Shoah. As we mourn the six million Jews and countless others murdered across Europe, we also honor the survivors who have bravely shared their stories so that such atrocities may never be repeated. More than seven decades later, we remain outraged by the Nazis' barbaric crimes and unwavering in our commitment to fulfilling humanity's sacred promise: Never Again.

"This occasion serves as a reminder of the profound danger posed by hateful violence when met with indifference. In 2020, I had the solemn privilege of leading a Congressional delegation to Poland and Israel to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, bearing witness to hate's destructive consequences. The epidemic of antisemitism still remains today, threatening Jewish communities both at home and around the world. Shadows of these same dark forces have reached into more communities, from the surge of bigoted violence across the country to crimes against humanity being perpetrated abroad, including against Ukraine.

"Our nation must never fail to call out and defeat these perilous threats wherever and whenever they arise. In 1943, my father Thomas D'Alesandro appealed to ‘the American sense of justice and decency' as he implored the Roosevelt Administration to take action against the horrors of the Holocaust. Today, driven by those fundamental American values, the Congress is working to preserve our collective memories of the past, educate the next generation and speak out against all of hate's vile manifestations. Congressional action has helped forge a safer, more just society: from combating antisemitism by strengthening Holocaust education resources and establishing Congressionally mandated Days of Remembrance to fighting hate-fueled violence by enacting the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and the Emmett Till Antilynching Act.

"Today, joining with House colleagues to honor those murdered in the Shoah, I recalled the moving words inscribed on San Francisco's Holocaust Memorial: ‘In remembrance is the secret of redemption.' Let us reflect on that truth as we seek to find redemption in a future of dignity and justice for all. May we never forget the horrors inflicted on so many innocent souls, and may we never relent in our righteous fight to put an end to the scourge of hate."