05- R 030
2005 -- H 5273
Enacted 02/01/05
H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
COMMEMORATING
THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF
AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU
CONCENTRATION CAMP ON JANUARY 27, 1945 AND HONORING THE MEMORY OF ALL WHO
PERISHED THERE
Introduced
By: Representatives Lewiss, Long, Fox, Ajello, and Crowley
Date
Introduced: February 01, 2005
WHEREAS,
All over the world Auschwitz has become the symbol of terror, genocide,
and
of the Holocaust. It is hard for most today to understand how this could have
happened and
how
people could treat other humans so cruelly and with such barbarism. But it is
vitally
important
that we learn about and never forget what happened in Auschwitz 60 years ago
and
work
diligently to never let it happen again; and
WHEREAS,
Auschwitz-Birkenau was built by the Nazis in the suburbs of Oswiecism, a
Polish
city that was annexed by the Nazis. By 1942 it became the primary site the
Nazis used to
mass
murder Jews along with Soviet prisoners of war, gypsies, homosexuals, political
prisoners
and
the mentally ill. Some were starved or beaten to death or died of disease, but
most were sent
to
their deaths in the gas chambers. This unspeakable brutality also included
children; and
WHEREAS,
The overall number of victims of Auschwitz-Birkenau has been estimated at
between
1.1 million and 1.5 million. It is easy to imagine that many who suffered under
such
conditions
would have lost all hope in humanity. Yet incredibly, Anne Frank, imprisoned in
Auschwitz-Birkenau
from September to October of 1944 and later moved to the concentration
camp
in Bergen-Belsen where she later died, never lost her belief in the goodness of
mankind.
She
said "It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd
and impractical.
Yet
I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people
are truly good"; now,
therefore
be it
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
hereby
commemorates the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and
honors
the
memory of all who perished there.
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LC01327
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