IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 17 

Expressing the sense of Congress that the people of the United States should 

grieve for the loss of life that defined the Third Reich and celebrate 

the continued education efforts for tolerance and justice, reaffirming 

the commitment of the United States to the fight against intolerance 

and prejudice in any form, and honoring the legacy of transparent 

procedure, government accountability, the rule of law, the pursuit of 

justice, and the struggle for universal freedom and human rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2007 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas submitted the following concurrent resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress that the people of the 

United States should grieve for the loss of life that 

defined the Third Reich and celebrate the continued education efforts for tolerance and justice, reaffirming the 

commitment of the United States to the fight against 

intolerance and prejudice in any form, and honoring the 

legacy of transparent procedure, government accountability, the rule of law, the pursuit of justice, and the 

struggle for universal freedom and human rights. 

Whereas the Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933 

and consolidated its power and popularity in Germany by 

playing on the fears, frustrations, and hopes of the GerVerDate Aug 31 2005 18:44 Jan 06, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC17.IH HC17

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•HCON 17 IH 

man people, and Nazi rule would become a nightmare for 

Europe and the world; 

Whereas the leaders, government officials, diplomats, soldiers 

and police officers of Nazi Germany perpetrated crimes 

against humanity by implementing the so-called Final Solution—the systematic murder of the European Jews—as 

well as by killing millions of others targeted for ‘‘racial’’ 

reasons, including Roma (Gypsies), people with disabilities, Poles, and Soviet prisoners of war; 

Whereas the magnitude of death and destruction in the era 

of the Holocaust involved the murder of millions, including six million Jews, more than one million of them children and constituting two-thirds of the European Jewish 

population, and marked a society for more than two generations afterwards with the brand of prejudice and racism; 

Whereas the Holocaust forces society and future generations 

to face uncomfortable questions, such as the responsibilities of citizenship, the consequences of indifference and 

inaction, and the importance of education and awareness; 

Whereas the Nuremberg Trials, conducted before the International Military Tribunal in the Palace of Justice in 

Nuremberg, Germany, from November 20, 1945, until 

the verdicts were delivered on October 1, 1946, were intended to judge crimes against peace, war crimes, and 

crimes against humanity publicly and transparently, on 

the basis of individual culpability, and to set precedents 

in international law to document such crimes in historical 

records and to bring a measure of justice for the victims 

of atrocities by calling to account future perpetrators before an international court of law; 


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•HCON 17 IH 

Whereas 2006 was the 60th anniversary of the Nuremberg 

Trials and a year in which we commemorated specifically 

the courage of those who suffered under Nazi rule in giving testimony in trials of Nazi offenders; 

Whereas the Nuremberg Trials were convened by the Allied 

powers of the United States, Great Britain, France, and 

the Soviet Union, to prosecute 21 major war criminals in 

what would become the best-known post-World War II 

trials; 

Whereas the International Military Tribunal was authorized 

in its charter for presiding over the Nuremberg Trials 

‘‘to try and punish persons who acting in the interest of 

the European Axis countries’’ committed one of four 

newly defined categories of crime: conspiracy, crimes 

against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; 

Whereas the last—crimes against humanity—was defined as 

‘‘murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation . . . or 

persecution of an individual on political, racial, or religious grounds’’; 

Whereas one of the most significant legal concepts established 

at the Nuremberg Trials was that a defendant’s argument that he was following orders was neither a defense 

nor an excuse justifying or mitigating the perpetration of 

a criminal act; 

Whereas captured documentation and eyewitness testimony 

presented at the Nuremberg Trials laid the initial foundation for what we know about the Holocaust, including 

the killing apparatus at Auschwitz, the atrocities committed by the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units), and 

the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto, and for what we 

know about other Nazi crimes; 


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•HCON 17 IH 

Whereas at the Nuremberg Trials the first statistical estimate that the Nazis and their collaborators systematically murdered six million Jews was offered and evidence 

supporting this estimate was entered into the record; 

Whereas the precedent set by the Nuremberg Trials has been 

held as a standard for special international tribunals to 

try perpetrators for crimes against humanity and crimes 

of genocide committed in the former Yugoslavia and in 

Rwanda; 

Whereas the world is watching closely as other countries, 

such as Iraq, seek to follow the framework and guiding 

vocabulary of the Nuremberg Trials to determine culpability while simultaneously allowing the accused to face 

their accusers; 

Whereas Israel, a country created in the wake of tragedy and 

born from international compromise, is a beacon of hope 

for democracy in the Middle East, and serves as an example of a country that has been able to maintain a vibrant democracy amidst existential threats that have existed since its founding; 

Whereas the cries of victims of oppression and genocide, 

whether in Germany, Cambodia, Rwanda, Iraq, or Sudan, 

are heard when the world demands justice and accountability; 

Whereas the Holocaust is a testament that democracy is fragile and not immune to tyranny; and 

Whereas freedom demands that justice be pursued: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That— 


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•HCON 17 IH 

1 (1) it is the sense of Congress that the people 

2 of the United States should grieve for the loss of life 

3 that defined the Third Reich and celebrate the con4 tinued education efforts for tolerance and justice; 

5 (2) the United States reaffirms its commitment 

6 to the fight against intolerance and prejudice in any 

7 form; 

8 (3) Congress urges all members of the inter9 national community to honor those individuals of all 

10 races, creeds, and colors who perished at the hands 

11 of the Nazis; and 

12 (4) the United States honors the primacy of 

13 transparent procedure, government accountability, 

14 the rule of law, the pursuit of justice, and the strug15 gle for universal freedom and human rights. 

Æ 


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