'On This Day, and All Days, We Must Do More Than Remember'

Statement by the President on Yom HaShoah

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, I join people of all faiths across the United States, in Israel and around the world in paying tribute to all who suffered in the Shoah—a horrific crime without parallel in human history.  We honor the memory of six million innocent men, women and children who were sent to their deaths simply because of their Jewish faith.  We stand in awe of those who fought back, in the ghettos and in the camps, against overwhelming odds.  And in the year of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, we are humbled by the rescuers who refused to be bystanders to evil.

On this day, and all days, we must do more than remember.  We must resolve that “never again” is more than an empty slogan.  As individuals, we must guard against indifference in our hearts and recognize ourselves in our fellow human beings.  As societies, we must stand against ignorance and anti-Semitism, including those who try to deny the Holocaust.  As nations, we must do everything we can to prevent and end atrocities in our time.  This is the work I will advance when I join survivors and their families at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Monday.  This must be the work of us all, as nations and peoples who cherish the dignity of every human being.    

President Obama: 'Never Forget. Never Again'

Polish civilians watch as German police deport some of their fellow 
Belchatowers to Germany for forced labor (1941). (Click to enlarge.) 

Statement by the President on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

This International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Michelle and I join people in the United States, in Israel, and across the globe as we remember the six million Jews and millions of others who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis.

We commit ourselves to keeping their memories alive not only in our thoughts, but through our actions. As we remember all those who perished in camps from Auschwitz to Treblinka, Dachau to Sobibor, we pledge to speak truth to those who deny the Holocaust.

As we celebrate the strength and resilience of survivors, we pledge to stand strong against all those who would commit atrocities, against the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and against hatred in all its forms.

As we draw inspiration from the righteous gentiles who risked their lives to save friends, neighbors, and even strangers, we pledge to continue the hard work of repairing the world.

Together with the State of Israel, and all our friends around the world, we dedicate ourselves to giving meaning to those powerful words: “Never Forget. Never Again.”

Photograph from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archives -- public domain