November 14, 2005
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM LAUDS U.N. DECISION ESTABLISHING INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum commends the United Nations General Assembly’s unanimous decision establishing January 27 as the annual international Holocaust Commemoration Day recognizing the 6 million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust.
“Since 1980, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has led the United States in its annual Days of Remembrance observation honoring the victims of the Holocaust,” said Fred S. Zeidman, Chairman, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. “The UN resolution expands Holocaust remembrance to every corner of the globe. We hope the international community uses the lessons of the Holocaust to prevent contemporary acts of genocide. Given rising anti-Semitism and the continuing problem of genocide, UN member nations that do not currently teach the history of the Holocaust should develop education and civic programs to coincide with the annual commemoration.”
Situated among our national monuments to freedom, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum is both a memorial to the past and a living reminder of the moral obligations of individuals and societies. The Museum fulfills its mission through a public/private partnership in which federal support guarantees the institution’s permanence and hundreds of thousands of donors nationwide make possible its educational activities and global outreach. Twenty-three million people – including more than 7 million schoolchildren – have visited the Museum since it opened in 1993, and through its Web site, traveling exhibitions and educational programs, the Museum reaches millions more every year. For more information, visit www.ushmm.org.
