H. Res. 39

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

January 25, 2005.

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;
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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
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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, eth-
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nic, and religious intolerance and prejudice can lead to

the genocide carried out in camps such as Auschwitz.

Attest:

Clerk.