johnson talking about his meeting with republican members attempting to remove him as house speaker. that is all coming up tonight on c-span. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> are you thinking this is just a community center? no, it is way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers, so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be readyor anything. >> comcast sports c-span as a public service along with these other public television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> president biden joined lawmakers and holocaust survivors at the u.s. remember the holocaust and expressed support for the jewish community. he said there's no place on campus or place in america for

antisemitism, hate speech, or threats of violence of any kind. house speaker mike johnson and house minority leader hakeem jeffries also spoke at the ceremony, which was hosted by the united states holocaust memorial museum in washington, d.c. ♪

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>> ladies and gentlemen, allan holt, vice chairman of the united states holocaust memorial council. mr. holt: good morning. every year we begin this ceremony with a tribute to the american soldiers along with our allies who courageously fought germany and collaborators.

every year there are fewer veterans. our veterans will eventually pass from the scene for the united states holocaust memorial will never forget them. we will continue to monitor. in our flags and in our permanent exhibitions. we do all of this to the past and as world war ii recedes in time, its lessons live on. and as we look at the world around us especially on our campuses clearly war lessons are more timely than ever.

our nation, especially our youth, need to understand the dangers of unchecked anti-semitism and all that was at stake in the war. deliberation, the freeing of victims of anti-semitism and preservation of our own democracy. this is why every year we hope this special commemoration gives a special place. we would not be standing in this great temple democracy joined by holocaust survivors enter and their descendants if not for brave soldiers fighting a total war across germany.

my own parents owed their lives to our soldiers. america's victory was made possible by success of the ambitious soldiers, whose courageous anniversary we will commemorate in just one month led by general eisenhower remains the largest board invasion in history. it enabled the defeat of germany that took 11 months to achieve . and during those 11 months, hundreds of thousands would be killed. american soldiers and allies, jewish men, women, and children and other victims of nazism. but remember this. by d-day, they had already

killed 5 million jews. because, as we know, the way to war, military war, genocidal war against as well as other racial and political enemies, people with disabilities, our great soldiers not only defeated nazism, they shared the truth about unprecedented crimes. the crimes unbelievable. they told our nation the unthinkable is possible. the world war ii generation is often called the greatest generation. our fellow americans made numerous sacrifices as they came together from every political persuasion and ever part of the

country to support each other, fight the war and protect our democracy. we must never forget what they did and why. we must never forget to help them. we must never forget how much we owe them. we must never forget the essential classes they teach us that when democracy and freedom are at stake, when hatred is rampant, complacency is never an option. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of flags of the united states army. liberating division. ♪

first infantry division. 101st airborne division. second infantry division. 82nd airborne division. fourth infantry division. 20th infantry division. 8th infantry division. 14th armor division. 26th infantry division. 12 armored division. 29th infantry division. 11th armored division.

30th infantry division. 10th armored division. 36th infantry division. 9th armored division. 42nd infantry division. 8th armored division. 45th infantry division. 6th armored division. 63rd infantry division. 4th armored division. 65th infantry division. 3rd armored division. 69th infantry division. 104th infantry division.

73rd infantry division. 103rd infantry division. 80th infantry division. 99th infantry division. 83rd infantry division. 95th infantry division. 84th infantry division. 90th infantry division. 86th infantry division. 89th infantry division. ♪

♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the national presentation of the national colors and the national anthem. ♪

♪ [chanting] >> ♪ oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? and the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪♪

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>> please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable mike johnson, speaker of the united states house of representatives. [applause] speaker johnson: thank you all so much. chair eizenstat, vice chair holt, leader jeffries, president biden, and most importantly, all of our holocaust survivors. welcome to the united states capital. you honor us by your presence today, all of you. thank you. we are here on a day of remembrance and also jewish heritage month and the

anniversary of the nazis' unconditional surrender to remember and to reflect. as part of congress mandate this to be holocaust memorial museum, this event is hosted every year because memories teach us. has been said, those who failed to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. director bloomfield has been leading for quarter-century, and if you have a chance to go on tour and ask her, she will say something like this. democracy is fragile and we are all capable of falling prey. by the turn of the 20th century, germany was democracy for the cutting edge of technology and a strong economy, highly educated. but that did not stop evil and darkness from overtaking the country. german universities were at the heart of intellectual life

. but it is exactly there where hundreds of learning or jewish faculty, students fell, where anti-jewish forces were introduced and performed horrific pseudo science experiment on jewish people from nearby concentration camps. now today we are witnessing universities becoming hostile places for jewish students and faculty. the very campuses that were once the envy of the international academy have succumb to anti-semitic violence. students known for producing papers are now known for stabbing in the eyes with palestinian flags.

faculty who once produced cutting edge and linking arms with pro-hamas protesters calling for. wanted for leadership are firing jewish faculty choosing not to protect jewish students. they are physically threatened when they walk on campuses repeating propaganda and moral . now is the time for moral clarity, and we must put an end to this madness. [applause] we understand this rise of anti-semitism comes after the worst attack on jewish people since the holocaust on october 7. with our survivors before us, if you close your eyes and in your the quietness of your own heart, you can almost hear the class glass of jewish storm fronts shattered by stormtroopers.

you can file brother's hand slipping out of his sister's, as men in uniform separate them into lines, and they can only mouth to one another that will everything will be ok, hoping that it would be. you could hear screams from the gas chambers and asked for 20 minutes in quiet returns but only for a moment. then a whip across another jewish back. the most depraved part of humanity, and then you open your eyes helping the memories of my my finally go away, but now your met with new images jewish girls bend down and infants held once tightly in their mother's

held tightly in their mother's arms are thrown, elderly women are raped. the wail of children pierces gunfire and watching the peak slaughtered. bodies were burned beyond recognition. just as in 1940, this violence was perpetrated by those who hated the star of david. it is uncomfortable to be so graphic, but we must be graphic, because the threat of repeating past is so great. we have to look people directly in the face, because some things are so wrong, downplay and justify what happened on october 7. some are even blaming israel for the barbaric inhuman attacks. , some would prefer to criticize israel and lecture them on their military tactics, they would rather do that then punish the terrorists who

perpetrated these crimes. israel's greatest moment of need when it's literally fighting for the existence of the nation, we have to do all we can to ensure that evil does not prevail. this is a time for all of us to come together, and it's in these troubling times we must look to this audience, to the survivors of the holocaust and their descendants, to help us remember and bear witness. several weeks ago, i'm proud to report to you that the united states congress overwhelmingly passed security israel to help for israel to help protect its borders. [applause] we did that together, and we did it because it was the right thing to do. to help israel protect its borders against hezbollah, hamas, and all its proxies. i was proud to pass, after

months of conversations with my prime minister netanyahu, ambassadors, and those trying to defend the nation against the threats facing them. i think it's very important we deliver critical assistance without any delay at all. [applause] the reason that act was so significant, that our vote was so important, because as a congress together we sent a message and bore witness to the past and told the world israel and jewish people are not alone . and we kept our promise we made decades ago. never again. [applause] in my hometown in shreveport, louisiana, there is a sweet lady named roseanne kind. she bore witness to what she saw in auschwitz, and she's gone

into classrooms to talk to generations of students about the horrors of the holocaust. frank escaped germany in 1938, five years later, he was drafted in the u.s. army and served to liberate his fellow jewish brothers and sisters. frank, would you stand? [applause] today we emulate folks like rose and frank and all those in this audience who witnessed the great horrors of the 20th century, and we recommit to decades old promise, never again. when our government knew what was happening to the jewish people, when the axis of powers were aligning and invading, we chose to respond only after freedom was lost. not today.

today, we must act decisively, in this moment, and we must teach the next generation. correct those who deny the facts of the holocaust or october 7, protect our jewish students and give our full unrequited support to the nation of israel. [applause] and we must, all of us together, call out anti-semitism in all forms without equivocation and without delay. this is our moment. [applause] we meet today with the horrific memories of october 7 and with the holocaust in our mind, knowing democracy really is fragile, and we think to fulfill god's command to moses in deuteronomy, as it is subscribed inscribed in the holocaust

museum. we must always remember and we will. god bless you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable hakeem jeffries, democratic leader of the united states house of representatives. [applause] rep. jeffries: president biden, speaker johnson, speaker emeritus pelosi, director, all of my colleagues congress, honorable ambassadors, to frank,

abe, manny, all those survivors we gather to honor, and those assembled for this important event, thank you for your presence today. let me begin, our commitment to everything we can with the position of authority that we have, in the times when it matters the most to ensure that "never again" unequivocally means never again. [applause] more than 40 years ago, congress established days of remembrance and enshrined into law the more al this is a together in commemoration of the 6 million jews who were brutally murdered. holocaust survivor and noted humanitarian elie wiesel

in accepting his noble prize in 1986, said action is the only remedy and made clear in different is most insidious of all. this is a day of remembrance and action, a day to remember the action of those murdered by evil regime and remember the holocaust survivors and unconscionable trustees. it is a day to recommit to the struggles against indifference. [applause] a prayer that will be heard today so beautifully and hauntingly. we gather to ask god to protect

and elevate souls from those taken from our world too soon. we are also here seven months to the day of the horrific atrocities committed by the loss on 10/7, the largest loss of jewish life on a single day since the holocaust. there are families whose loved ones were slaughtered, there are hostages still being held in horrific conditions, and we are witnessing deeply disturbing rise of anti-semitism on campuses around the country and in the world. this is a very searing time for the jewish community. systematic oppression has been a reality of jewish life and

for years. having to endure expulsion, pain, and persecution at the , prejudice, and the horrors of the holocaust may previously unthinkable crime against humanity. jewish communities across the world and what followed tragic deaths of some. during this moment of great vulnerability, aaron received instructions from god that he is a priest must carry out during the yom kippur service. we learn from god that practice and must continue in the face of what aaron and body, what it means to be resilient when confronting advance pain.

today, in partnership with the jewish community, we commit to carrying on with strength and resilience, we recommit to the remembrance of the holocaust, we recommit to the principles of never again and recommit to combating anti-semitism wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head, . [applause] as we left of the spirit and memory of the holocaust in honor and honor the survivors with us today. let us always place irreversible determination over indifference. to combat anti-semitism, it's not democratic issue or a republican issue, it is an

american issue. we must press anti-semitism along with xenophobia, homophobia, and all of the problems together. together we will defeat anti-semitism with the fair urgency of now. that is a moral necessity. each and everyone of you, bless the united states of america. >> ladies and gentlemen, ambassador stuart eizenstat, chairman of the united states holocaust memorial museum. council. [applause]

amb. eizenstat: for the jewish communities in our country and around the world, these solemn days of remembrance and at a fraud time. the unimaginable has become reality before our eyes. one of these 6 million victims of the holocaust murdered because of racial ideology rooted in anti-semitism. think about survival in the united states inmate 21st century. in the united states, whose brave soldiers defeated hitler's nazi regime and along with our allies liberated situation the concentration camps. what of the aging witnesses, the 245,000 holocaust survivors

around the world, almost 40,000 in our own country. think when they witnessed the rise of antisemitic outbursts, harassment, threats, and violence on our campuses. in the land of the free mb home of the brave, provoking what they witnessed as young boys and girls and not the occupied europe -- in nazi-occupied europe. before october 7, police guards were necessary at synagogues. and jewish state schools and community centers. how did they come to terms with seeing so many young people and justify hamas' brutality, which carried out a greatest single -day loss of jewish lives since the holocaust. how do we best honor the memory of those who died at the hands

of the nazis? 6 million men, women, and children. at the outbreak of the world war ii, september 1, 1939, 17 there were 17 million jews in a world of one billion. now, there are only 15.7 million in a world of 8 billion. but the sheer loss masks the holocaust and the flower of jewish religion, culture, the arts, and sciences and yes, those eking out a life in small settles but preserving their jewish heritage. we honor them to do all we can to ensure that in the remaining years they live in a dignity

that i them in their use. and despite generous reparations payments in postwar germany, which i helped negotiate going , back to 1952, today 90% of survivors live in or near poverty in the former soviet union and central and eastern europe. 35% of the state of israel, and 30% in our own country, the richest in the history of the world. joe biden, when he was vice president, championed a u.s. government program to help survivors. but we all owe it to aging survivors to do more to assure that they are well taken care of. [applause] second, we must absorb the lessons of the holocaust, which

began by recognizing that the holocaust was not inevitable. it was not inevitable. early action against discrimination and intimidation and aggression is essential, whether abroad or on our college campuses. hitler's aspiration was not the final solution to kill all jews, rather it was to make germany free of jews. he methodically proceeded step-by-step to gauge world and german opinion to the gradual disenfranchisement of jews. here is what he saw. no boycott of the berlin olympics. no economic sanctions. no action with the takeover of the czech land in the munich

pact. no action after kristallnacht, with thousands of synagogues and jewish businesses torched and mass arrests. hitler specifically commented on the failure of the 1938 conference, called by roosevelt to deal with refugees seeking to escape the nazis' grasp, but failing to lift immigration. and in 1939, over 900 jewish refugees waiting for three days to land in mammy harbor and being turned back. hitler concluded that to the world, jews were dispensable.

once world war ii began, they have a little sources and museums special exhibit and accept as many as possible. they failed to take special action to save dues and other minorities. -- jews and other minorities. the state department cap as many jewish refugees out of america as possible, and, frankly, this reflected the views of the majority of the american public, despite their knowing of and opposing the nazi terror against the jews. in 1944 come in the u.s. treasury department, in which i had an office, the staff of the treasury department presented to the treasury a remarkable report on like that i think any agency had ever presented to the head

of a major department. it was entitled the acquiescence of this administration in the murder of the jews. the staff of the treasury department presented that to the secretary, and this finally led president roosevelt to create the war refugee board that saved tens of thousands of jews, but not soon enough to save the last large jewish communities. in less than two months, many were deported to auschwitz. by the time our brave soldiers stormed the beaches of normandy, on june 6, 1944, of the 6,000,000 european jews in the who would be killed, 5 million had already been murdered. president biden and the bipartisan leadership of the congress, with the leadership of the speaker of the house,

speaker johnson, minority leader jeffries, and the senate, or to be congratulated for taking the lessons to heart of world war ii at the holocaust, about the threat of unchecked aggression by continuing aid to his defense ukraine's defense of democracy against vladimir putin, who has repeatedly publicly distorted and exploited the holocaust, and, at the same time, casting aid to israel at its moment of greatest threat, a threat from hamas and other terrorist organizations, who do not seek a peaceful solution to the palestinian-israeli dispute but rather to eliminate israel, root and branch, as a jewish state. at home, the biden administration launched last year, well before october 7, the

nation's first national strategy to counter anti-semitism, involving all federal departments and agencies. and just a few days ago, again, with bipartisan leadership, the speaker in the leader, the house of representatives passed the bipartisan anti-semitic awareness act to clarify the definition of anti-semitism. [applause] we thank you. and last, the most lasting way to honor the victims of the holocaust and today's survivors , as eyewitnesses leave us, is education, we must think about those who distort the holocaust and make clear to future generations what can happen when anti-semitism goes unchecked. which threatens us today. to remember the power of

propaganda, first used on a mass basis on radio by the nazis, and now virulent in our own social media, the need to protect the rule of law from assault, and the possibilities for each of us, and particularly our young people, as they start their lives, to make the right choice , to take the path that rescuers took doing the holocaust, and our museum recognizes them. but not to be indifferent or to tuesday follow hitler down the abyss. but on this day of remembrance, holocaust survivors are telling us an inspirational support a . it is a story of resilience, a story of fears resolved, to never give up and never given.

in. it is a story of rebuilding, it is a story of the trauma of losing their families and communities and their abandonment by the world, to deter them from creating a new life with new families, and a renewed determination to follow the jewish admonition of preparing the whole in the fabric of the world. you truly are our inspiration. as we confront unprecedented anti-semitism in our own entry time at our own country, to rededicate ourselves that no to the vision that no one's future to be like their past. it is my distinct pleasure and privilege to introduce a friend of almost 50 years, who is a great supporter of holocaust survivors, who entrusted me with the chairmanship of our great holocaust, because he knew that

holocaust justice for survivors, memories for victims, and lessons for future generations has been a feature of our lives. to me, he is not only the president of the united states, he is a mensch, who, as vice president, came to my late wife's shiva and 2019 and spoke spontaneously and movingly about her life, a gesture me and my family will never forget. ladies and gentlemen, mr. speaker, leader jeffries, numbers of congress, dignitaries, and most especially, holocaust survivors, the president of united states joe biden. [applause] [applause]

mr. president. [applause] pres. biden: thank you. [applause] thank you, thank you, thank you. please. thank you, stu eizenstat, for that introduction, for your leadership of the united states holocaust memorial museum. you're a true scholar, a statesman, and a dear friend. speaker johnson, leader jeffries, members of congress, and especially the survivors of the holocaust. if my mother were here, she would look at you and say, "god love you all. god love you all." abe foxman and all the other survivors who embody absolute courage and dignity and grace are here as well. during these sacred days of remembrance, we grieve.

we give voice to the 6 million jews who were systematically targeted and murdered by the nazis and their collaborators during world war ii. we honor the memory of victims, the pain of survivors, the bravery of heroes who stood up to hitler's unspeakable evil. and we recommit to heading and the lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history, to revitalize and realize the responsibility of "never again." never again, simply translated for me, means "never forget." never forget. never forgetting means we must keep telling the story. we must keep teaching the truth. we must keep teaching our children and our grandchildren. and the truth is we are at risk of people not knowing the truth.

that's why, growing up, my dad taught me and my siblings about the horrors of the shoah at our family dinner table. that's why i visited yad vashem with my family as a senator, as vice president, and as president. and that's why i took my grandchildren to dachau, so they could see and bear witness to the perils of indifference, the complicity of silence in the face of evil that they knew was happening. germany, 1933. hitler and his nazi party rise to power by rekindling one of the world's oldest forms of prejudice and hate -- antisemitism. his rule didn't begin with mass murder. it started slowly across economic, political, social, and cultural life -- propaganda demonizing jews, boycotts of jewish businesses, synagogues defaced with swastikas, harassment of jews in the street

s and in the schools, antisemitic demonstrations, pogroms, organized riots. with the indifference of the world, hitler knew he could expand his reign of terror by eliminating jews from germany, to annihilate jews across europe through genocide the nazis called the "final solution" -- concentration camps, gas chambers, mass shootings. by the time the war ended, 6 million jews -- one out of every three jews in the entire world -- were murdered. this ancient hatred of jews didn't begin with the holocaust. it didn't end with the holocaust, either, or after -- or even after our victory in world war ii. this hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world, and it requires our continued vigilance

and outspokenness. that hatred was brought to life on october 7th in 2023. on a sacred jewish holiday, the terrorist group hamas unleashed the deadliest day of the jewish people since the holocaust. driven by ancient desire to wipe out the jewish people off the face of the earth, over 1200 innocent people -- babies, parents, grandparents -- slaughtered in their kibbutz, massacred at a musical festival, brutally raped, mutilated, and sexually assaulted. thousands more carrying wounds, bullets, and shrapnel from the memory of that terrible day they endured. hundreds taken hostage, including survivors of the shoah.

now, here we are, not 75 years later but just seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting. they're already forgetting that hamas unleased this terror, that it was hamas that brutalized israelis, that it was hamas who took and continues to hold hostages. i have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget. [applause] and as jews around the world still cope with the atrocities and trauma of that day and its aftermath, we've seen a ferocious surge of antisemitism in america and around the world. vicious propaganda on social

media, jews forced to hide their kippahs under baseball hats, tuck their jewish stars into their shirts. on college campuses, jewish students blocked, harassed, attacked while walking to class. antisemitism. antisemitic posters, slogans calling for the annihilation of israel, the world's only jewish state. too many people denying, downplaying, rationalizing, ignoring the horrors of the holocaust and october 7th, including hamas' appalling use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize jews. it's absolutely despicable, and it must stop. [applause]

all the islands and denial can hide much, but it can erase nothing. some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they cannot be buried no matter how hard people try. in my view, image or lesson of the holocaust is, as mentioned earlier, it was not inevitable. wenever goes away, it only hides. give an option, it comes out from under the rocks. we also know one thing, on the bus -- we also know what stops it. one thing -- all of us. rabbi jonathan sacks subscribed antiseptics as a virus that survived -- anti-semitism is a virus that survived and mutated

over time. we cannot let that happen. we have to remember our basic principles of the nation, we have an obligation to learn the lessons of history. don't surrender the future to the lies of the past. we must not give safe harbor against anyone. the very founding -- jewish americans who represent of only 2% of the u.s. population have helped lead the cause of freedom for everyone in the nation. from that experience, we know scapegoating and demonizing any minority is a threat to every minority and the very foundation of our democracy. moments like this have to put these principles that we have been talking about interaction. i understand people have strong beliefs and deep convictions about the world. in america, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech, to debate and

disagree, to protest peacefully, and make our voices heard. i understand that is america. but there is no place on any campus in america, any place in america, for anti-semitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind. [applause] whether against jews or anyone else. violent attacks, destroying property, is not peaceful protest. it is against the law. we are not a lawless country. we are in a civil society. we uphold the rule of law. and no one should have to hide or be brave just to be themselves. [applause]

to the jewish community, i want you to know i see your fear, your hurt and your pain. let me reassure you as your president, you are not alone. you belong. you always have and always will. in my -- and my commitment to the safety of the jewish people, the security of israel, and its right to exist as an independent jewish state is ironclad even when we disagree. [applause] my administration is working around-the-clock to free the remaining hostages. we have freed hostages already and we will not rest until we bring them all home. [applause] my administration, with our

second general leadership has launched the nation's first strategy to counter and. it is mobilizing the full force of the federal government to protect the jewish community. but we know that it is not the work of the government alone or dues alone. that is what i am calling on all americans to stand united against anti-semitism and hate against all americans. my dear friend ellie wiesel said, quote, one person of integrity can make a difference." we have to remember that now more than ever. here in the u.s. capitol among the tiring stages of history is a bust of ronald wallenberg. born in sweden as a lutheran, he was a businessman and diplomat. while stationed in hungary during world war ii, he used

diplomatic cover to hide and rescue about 100,000 jews over a six month period. among them was a 16-year-old jewish boy who escaped in nazi labor camp. after the war ended, the boy received a scholarship to study in america. he came to new york city pinellas but determined to turn his pain into purpose along with his wife who was also a holocaust survivor. he became a renowned economist and foreign policy thinker eventually making his way through the israeli capital on the staff of a first term senator. that jewish refugee was tom lantos and that senator was me. tom and his wife and their family became dear friends to me and my family. he would go on to become the only holocaust survivor elected

to congress and became a leading voice of human rights and civil-rights around the world. tom never met raoul, who was taken prisoner by the soviets never to be heard from again. he became the second person ever after winston churchill given honorary u.s. citizenship. the holocaust museum here in washington is located on the road with his name. the story of the power of a single person to put aside our differences, to see our common humanity, to stand up to hate and its ancient story of resilience from immense pain and persecution. to find hope, purpose and meaning in life, we try to live and share with one another. that story endures.

let me close on this, i know that these are difficult times. we all do well to remember that these days also fall during the month that we celebrate jewish american heritage. a heritage that stretches from our earliest days to enrich every single part of american life. tom lantos used the phrase "the veneer of civilization is paper-thin." we are its guardians and we can never rest. my fellow americans, we must, we must be the guardians. we must never rest. we must rise against hate. meet across the divide. cr, humanity. may god bless the victims and survivors of the shoah. end of the resilient hearts, the

courageous spirit and the eternal claim of faith of the jewish people, make it forever shine their light on america and around the world, i pray to god. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen. the museum's bringing the

lessons home program introduces washington, d.c. area public high school students to holocaust history, and encourages them to share its lessons with their family, friends and community. now in its 30th year, over 900 students from over 130 schools has completed the program and become museum ambassadors. we are gratified to have six ambassadors taking part in the memorial candle lighting. [applause]

>> my name is myra and i remember. >> my name is vivienne, and i remember. >> my name is anna, and i remember. >> my name is mia, and i

remember. >> my name is sananay -- sanay a, and i remember.

>> ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to have more than 30 holocaust survivors with us today. and now some will share memorial reflections. >> my name is alfred. most of my family lives in a box of photographs that i hold sacred. the box holds memories of members of my family, most of whom were deported and did not come back. this photo shows my uncle, my two sisters, my father and my mother enjoying a day at the park shortly before the nazi occupation of the netherlands and before i was born.

my sisters were denounced and murdered in auschwitz. my uncle was on the same transport and suffered the same fate. my father was liberated, but succumbed two months later. i still remember my father, my uncle and my sisters. [applause] >> my name is rhea.

in my hand is a photo of my mother and my brother. this is the only position that remains from my life before the holocaust. the photo had been pulled from the trash by our neighbor who wanted a keepsake of my friend who had disappeared. it was given to my mother after liberation when she returned to our hometown in poland. my brother was only four years old when my mother placed him with a local farmer. when they were betrayed, the farmer was beaten and my mother was killed. i will always remember my brother and a 3000 members of the jewish community in my hometown. [applause] >> i am manny.

the object i hold was my lifeline during those terrible months that i spent in the concentration camp. . when i became ill, my mother read excerpts from the initial robinson crusoe. i was lucky that my mother was allowed to stay with me and that i had been able to bring a piece of home with me. many, including my extended family members were not so lucky. they were deported, their belongings confiscated before they were murdered. i will always remember my grandmother rosa, my maternal grandparents, and my seven-year-old cousin who were killed in as vince. as we recite and chant the traditional player for the souls of the dead, i invite you to stand and hold high the photo that is on your chair. together we are not their lives and remember them -- we honor their lives and remember them.

>> [speaking another language] amen.

♪[spiritual chanting]♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, abe foxman, holocaust survivor and member of the united states holocaust memory council -- memorial council --. >> mr. president, thank you for standing with us. thank you. [applause] > >> [speaking another language]

my dear fellow survivors, we are here again today to stand and bear witness. i was born in the wrong time, at the wrong place for a jewish kid. nazi-occupied poland in 1940 was not the best place to be born. yet i managed to survive as a hidden child by the intercession of one person's courage, kindness, compassion, decency, and, most likely, several miracles. as i grew older, i tried to understand what it is that i had survived. and the first set of questions were very serious existential questions of why.

why did the shoah, the holocaust, happen to the jewish people. why did over 1.5 million jewish children perish? why was the world silent? and why didn't the almighty intervene? to the universal questions of why, very personal questions of why were added. why me? why me? why me? in that struggle to understand, two facts became clear. one is that the world knew. the world knew. there was no cnn, no fox, no satellite feeds from faraway places.

no internet, no 24-7 news. and yet the world knew. those in positions of power to make decisions to stop what was happening knew. they knew how many jews were killed in all those places. they knew. they knew what was happening to the jews. and as ken burns in his pbs series revealed to the world, revealed how much american new and what little it did. so the first lesson for us is to know, to know about anti-semitism, bigotry and racism. to know who it is that threatens our democracy, our freedoms, it is important that we know. but knowing is not enough. the second thing that became clear to me was that wherever,

however good people said no, whenever good people stand up to say no to hate, jews lived. days lived. roma lived. there was an oscar schindler who saved 1200 jews. there was raoul wallenberg, swedish diplomat who saved nearly 3000 jews. there were over 60 diplomats who acted against the orders of their governments and saved thousands of jews. there was in denmark, in bulgaria, an albania, who saved all their jews. i stand here today because there is a polish catholic lady who could barely read and write. who didn't sit down and measure the risks, and yet risked her life every single day for four years to protect the life of

another human being, a jewish child. her name was bradislava kurpi. she baptized me, give me a false identity and protected me from her neighbors as well as the gestapo. so i stopped asking questions of why and began to ask the questions on the order of what if. what if instead of one raoul wallenberg, there were 10,000? what if instead of one oscar schindler, there were 10,000 oscar schindlers? what if this wonderful country of ours had permitted the passing of shapes to dock at its shores and unload its cargo of refugees? what if we found auschwitz? what if canada had found room for 5000 jewish orphans? what if? what if? what if we traded trucks

for jews? what if switzerland had permitted the entry of jewish orphans? the dominican republic said yes to jewish refugees. cuba said yes to jewish refugees. but america and canada said no. and sadly, there was no state of israel to open its doors. bearing witness also gives me an opportunity to say thank you to my nanny bratislawa kurpi, who i never thanked, and whom i never said goodbye to. dear friends, the holocaust did not begin with gas chambers. it began with words from ugly words. hateful words demonizing, degrading and debasing jews. those words became ugly hateful deeds.

we need to speak up and out from it we need to protest when anyone who is maligned, no matter the victim or perpetrator. especially now when we live in such a supra-polarized environment, politicized with a lack of stability and a lack of truth, enhanced by the so-called modern miracle of the internet. jewish tradition teaches us that life and death is in the power of the tongue. three times a day, jews who follow that tradition ask the almighty, >> [speaking another language] -- keep my mouth from speaking people. we believe in the power of words. in the power of good people to stand up and say no. never again was an 11th commandment etched in the aftermath of auschwitz.

it was etched by the jewish people, based on a jewish experience. but never again that pledge, that imperative, that commandment has a universal message and mended. for all of us today, we must bear witness and be faithful to the commandments which instructs all of us to never again be silent. never again be silent whenever anyone is in fear, in danger, isolated, singled out because of the color of, their skin their religion, their ethnic origin, their sexual orientation or anything that makes them different from the rest. who would have believed that we, the survivors, would in our lifetime, bear witness to a global epidemic of anti-semitism ? including in our beloved country ? that israel, the jewish state,

would again be under attack? that the jewish people would again, be under attack. that zionism, the national liberation movement of the jewish people, would again be challenged and attacked? so it is again, our responsibility, fellow survivors , not only to bear witness, but to shout out, for we dare not, they not be silent. thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, sarah bloomfield, director of the united states holocaust memorial museum. >> exactly 80 years ago, the war was beginning its long and deadly ending. our soldiers were tirelessly fighting the germans who were relentlessly killing the jews. and yet, at the same time, despite the odds, jews were courageously resisting. resistance movements in ghettos organized escapes and uprisings so jews could flee to fight.

the odds of successful resistance were very, very low. the determination of the jews were so very high. some of the jews who were forced to operate the crematoria mutinied against their ss guards . 45 jews were killed, including women who had supplied the resistors with explosives to blow up one of the crematorium . 1944 was also the year hannah and others from mandatory palestine parachuted behind german lines. she was captured and killed. it -- she was only 23. like her, most of these resistors were young. can you imagine making the decision to risk your life and leave your family and community when they were under such a massive assault and completely abandoned by the world? throughout the holocaust, jews

faced endless, horrific dilemmas. which is why they are called twice less choices. many jews resisted in various ways. we do not know other names, but we know their deeds, and we know the valiant fight they fought for jewish lives. they remain an example for all time. the resilience of jewish determination and dignity. the hymn of the partisans, which we will now hear, was written by a 21-year-old in a ghetto a year before he was killed. every time i hear the song, i think about the unthinkable circumstances in which it was written, and the continued refrain, "we are here. we are here." the remarkable story of jewish

resistance remains an inspiration for all times and especially these times, as eight decades later, jews continue to refrain, "we are here. we are here." [applause] >> please stand for the singing of the hymn of the partisans led by cantor sonia zel and the retirement of the division flags. >> ready, up. ready, face. ♪ [singing]♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain at your station until the official party departs. this concludes our program. thank you for sharing our national commitment to holocaust remembrance. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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announcer: on wednesday the house oversight mmittee looks at the response to pro-palestinian protests at george washington universy. they allegedly involved anti-semitism and unlawful activity. we will hear testimony from d.c. mayor muriel bowser as well as police chief pamela smith watch on c-span3, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. ♪ announcer: friday nights, watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail. a weekly roundup of c-span's campaign coverage providing a one-stop-shop to discover what candidates across the country are saying to voters along with first-hand accounts from political reporters, updated poll numbers, fundraising data, and campaign ads. watch c-span's "2024 campaign trail," friday nights at 7:30 eastern on c-span, online at c-span.org, or download as a podcast on c-span now, our free mobile app, or wherever you get your podcasts. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics.