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Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust Statement on Signing H.]. Res. 1014 Into Law.

September 18, 1978

I have today signed House Joint Resolution 1014, designating April 28 and 29, 1979, as "Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust."

The systematic extermination of millions of human beings by the Nazis during World War II was the most terrible crime in all recorded history. In the words of the resolution, the Holocaust remains "not only a shocking symbol of Nazi brutality and destruction, but also a symbol of the danger inherent in tyranny, the pernicious quality of bigotry, and the human capacity to be cruel."

The resolution was passed unanimously by both Houses of Congress. This reflects our Nation's wholehearted conviction that the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.

Senator John Danforth of Missouri, whom I commend for having originated the resolution, chose April 28 and 29, because it was on these dates, in 1945, that American troops liberated the Dachau concentration camp. The dates chosen by Senator Danforth and embodied in this resolution thus aptly symbolize both the horror of genocide and the imperative to fight against it.

During the next few months, the President's Commission on the Holocaust will study ways in which this commemoration can best be observed, and I will issue an appropriate proclamation next spring. In the meanwhile, I wish to commend Senator Danforth, Representatives Wright, Rosenthal, Rhodes, and Vander Jagt and their colleagues, who joined in securing passage of H.J. Res. 1014.

Note: As enacted, H.J. Res. 1014 is Public Law 95-371, approved September 18.

Jimmy Carter, Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust Statement on Signing H.]. Res. 1014 Into Law. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/243106

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