President Trump Pays Tribute to Holocaust Remembrance Day: 'Our nation is indebted to the Holocaust's survivors'
abcnews.go.com
By David Caplan | Jan 27, 2018, 8:30 AM ET
President Donald Trump honored International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is Saturday, with a lengthy message in which he paid tribute, in part, to the the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis, saying, "our nation is indebted to the Holocaust's survivors."
The White House released on Friday the "Presidential Message on International Holocaust Rememberance Day."
"Tomorrow marks the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death and concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland," reads the message. "We take this opportunity to recall the Nazis’ systematic persecution and brutal murder of six million Jewish people. In their death camps and under their inhuman rule, the Nazis also enslaved and killed millions of Slavs, Roma, gays, people with disabilities, priests and religious leaders, and others who courageously opposed their brutal regime."
The president's message continues, "Our Nation is indebted to the Holocaust’s survivors. Despite the trauma they carry with them, they continue to educate us by sharing their experiences, strength, wisdom, and generosity of spirit to advance respect for human rights. Although they are aging and their numbers are slowly dwindling, their stories remain with us, giving us the strength to combat intolerance, including anti-Semitism and all other forms of bigotry and discrimination."
Trump adds, "As I have said: 'We will stamp out prejudice. We will condemn hatred. We will bear witness, and we will act.'"
He concludes, "On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we acknowledge this dark stain on human history and vow to never let it happen again."
First lady Melania Trump visited on Thursday the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the people whose lives and families were broken by the horrors of the Holocaust," she said in a statement. "My heart is with you, and we remember."
The first lady later tweeted that the visit was "a powerful & moving tour that honors the millions of innocent lives lost, and educates us on the tragedies and effects of the holocaust."
First daughter Ivanka Trump, who is Jewish, tweeted, "'Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.' ? Elie Wiesel, Night #NeverForget #HolocaustRemembranceDay."
“Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.” ? Elie Wiesel, Night #NeverForget #HolocaustRemembranceDay pic.twitter.com/b6zQ3l8lzu
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) January 26, 2018
Earlier this week, while in Jerusalem, Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu.