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 par-
ticular handicapped and retarded individuals, homo-
sexuals, political, intellectual, labor, and religious leaders,
all of whom the Nazis considered ‘‘undesirable’’, as well
as Soviet and other prisoners of war, perished at Ausch-
witz and elsewhere in Europe;
•HRES 39 EH
Whereas the complex of concentration and death camps at
Auschwitz has come to symbolize the brutality and inhu-
manity of the Holocaust;
Whereas on January 24, 2005, the United Nations General
Assembly, in response to a resolution proposed by Aus-
tralia, 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, Po-
land, to mark the anniversary of the liberation of the
camps in which the Presidents of Israel, Germany, Po-
land, and Russia, and the Vice President of the United
States, and leaders of many other countries will partici-
pate;
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 sig-
nificantly in recent years’’, ‘‘Holocaust denial and Holo-
caust minimization efforts’’ have found increasingly overt
acceptance in a number of Middle Eastern countries, and
anti-Semitism has appeared ‘‘in countries where histori-
cally 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 Al-
lied soldiers, as well as partisans and underground fight-
ers, 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 or-
ganizations 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 in-
crease 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-
•HRES 39 EH
nic, and religious intolerance and prejudice can lead to
the genocide carried out in camps such as Auschwitz.
Attest:
Clerk.