Remembering the Holocaust

Today on this annual Holocaust Memorial Day, we pause to remember all those tragically lost in the Holocaust. In this horrible blemish on our world’s history, millions were persecuted and put to death. We also must take time to remember the survivors of the Holocaust who are forever affected by the nightmare of those events. Their strength to carry on and expose the atrocities of the Holocaust is to be commended.

This Holocaust Memorial Day marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz. On January 27, 1945 the Soviet Army entered the camp, near the prewar German-Polish border, and freed the remaining prisoners. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum it is estimated at least 1.1 million people were murdered at Auschwitz alone, with a total of 1.3 million people deported there between 1940 and 1945.

We must let today serve as a reminder of what evil dictators can do when they go unchecked. We also must remain aware of what is being said against our nation and against our allies around the world. Never again can a tyrant or dictator be allowed to seek the destruction of human life like was witnessed in the Holocaust.