[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 167 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 167
Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 20, 2023
Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Ms. Rosen, and Mr. Scott of South
Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and
agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum.
Whereas, on April 26, 1993, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
(referred to in this preamble as the ``Museum'') opened to the public as
a permanent living memorial museum to the victims of the Holocaust,
following dedication ceremonies days earlier with the President of the
United States, the President of the State of Israel, the Chairman of the
Holocaust Memorial Council Harvey Meyerhoff, and 1986 Nobel Peace Prize
winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel;
Whereas, for 3 decades, the Museum has been teaching both the history of the
Holocaust and the lessons learned from the Holocaust, including lessons
about the fragility of democracy, the power of propaganda, and the
dangers of hatred, antisemitism, and inaction, to members of the public,
especially youth, from all walks of life, including members of
underserved communities;
Whereas the aim of the Museum's educational work is to promote self-reflection
and critical thinking about the roles and responsibilities of
individuals in the world today and catalyze actions to confront hatred,
prevent genocide, and promote human dignity;
Whereas, during its first 30 years, the Museum has welcomed over 47,000,000
visitors, including millions of schoolchildren and more than 100 heads
of state;
Whereas the Museum has enabled hundreds of Holocaust survivors to share their
experiences with tens of thousands of students and the public at the
Museum, online, and across the country;
Whereas the Museum has conducted its educational outreach in multiple ways,
having--
(1) built the world's most comprehensive collection of Holocaust
documentation and a state-of-the-art facility to preserve that collection
and make it digitally accessible;
(2) launched the world's leading online authority on the Holocaust, the
20-language Holocaust Encyclopedia, which served 25,000,000 visitors in
2022;
(3) built a robust social media presence that has raised awareness of
the Holocaust and related antisemitism and that in 2022 had 2,300,000
followers, 306,000,000 views, and over 56,000,000 engagements;
(4) created Experiencing History, the primary resource on the Holocaust
for college and university instructors and their students across multiple
disciplines on campuses nationwide;
(5) created foundational guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust
and served thousands of teachers nationwide with professional development
trainings and classroom resources that emphasize the pivotal role of
antisemitism in creating the environment that led to the Holocaust;
(6) traveled exhibitions throughout the country on topics such as the
``1936 Berlin Olympics'', ``Nazi racial science'', ``Nazi propaganda'', and
``Americans and the Holocaust'';
(7) sponsored programs for thousands of law enforcement agents,
military personnel, and members of the judiciary to examine the roles of
their counterparts during the Holocaust and reflect on their own roles
today in preserving democracy;
(8) supported development of the vital field of Holocaust studies,
including the research and teachings of hundreds of scholars in the United
States and abroad, and foundational publications like the ``The
Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945''; and
(9) opened the International Tracing Service Archives, which enables
the Museum to provide thousands of survivors and their families with
historic documentation pertaining to their individual wartime experiences;
Whereas the Museum has become a well-respected international resource, having--
(1) worked with European Union officials and European governments in
Eastern and Western Europe to advance policies and institutions devoted to
preserving the memory and relevance of the Holocaust in perpetuity;
(2) raised awareness of the Holocaust in parts of the Middle East and
held the first Holocaust remembrance ceremonies in the United Arab Emirates
and Egypt; and
(3) helped establish the field of genocide prevention, becoming a
resource for policymakers and raising public awareness of populations
currently threatened by genocide and mass atrocities, such as the Uyghurs,
Rohingya, and Yezidis;
Whereas, more than 75 years after the Holocaust, antisemitism continues to be
expressed publicly around the world through the proliferation of hate
speech, disinformation, and conspiracy theories that lead to hate crimes
and violence, both in the United States and abroad;
Whereas, in 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by consensus, a
resolution that condemns Holocaust denial and encourages the development
of programs meant to educate future generations on the horrors of the
Holocaust and antisemitism;
Whereas, on June 14, 2021, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution
unequivocally condemning the recent rise in antisemitic violence and
harassment targeting Jewish individuals in the United States and
standing in solidarity with those affected by antisemitism; and
Whereas the Museum aims to be a global leader in bringing awareness of the
Holocaust to audiences worldwide, promoting the relevance of the
Holocaust for new generations, building the field of Holocaust education
in the United States, and protecting the truth of the Holocaust: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) congratulates all those who were responsible for the
creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and all
those who have turned that vision into a living and growing
memorial and educational resource accessible to the people of
the United States and the world;
(2) condemns antisemitism as a particularly pernicious form
of hate and racial and religious bigotry and calls on the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to continue its
critical work, in-person and online, educating the public about
the dangers of antisemitism and the origins of the Holocaust;
(3) encourages leaders and all individuals in the United
States and around the world to utilize the resources available
from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and speak out
against manifestations of antisemitism, bigotry, and hatred
against Jewish individuals and communities, including growing
online antisemitic harassment, abuse, Holocaust denial, and
conspiracy theories;
(4) supports and encourages educational and community-based
programs that counter antisemitism and hate, as well as those
that advance educational programs about the Holocaust and
provide support for Holocaust survivors;
(5) commits to continue to raise awareness and act to
eradicate the continuing scourge of antisemitism in the United
States and abroad;
(6) designates April 26, 2023, as ``United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum Day''; and
(7) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate
transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the chair of
the United States Holocaust Museum Memorial Council and a copy
to the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
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