A congressional delegation, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), visited Auschwitz on Tuesday ahead of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration and extermination camp.
Pelosi laid a wreath at the “Death Wall” outside Block 11 at Auschwitz, where several thousand inmates were killed, most of them part of the Polish resistance.
“Our delegation was deeply moved by our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. We came to commemorate 75 years since its liberation and to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the horrors of the Holocaust will never be repeated,” said Pelosi in a statement. “The sheer magnitude of the evil perpetrated against Jews, Roma, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities and others almost defies comprehension.”
The delegation, which also included Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), was joined by Polish House Speaker Elzbieta Witek and Polish Senate Speaker Tomasz Grodzki.
The members of Congress also visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and saw the exhibition “Shoah” made by the Yad Vashem Institute.
“In memory of every single person killed in Auschwitz. Let them rest in peace. We all should commit ourselves to fulfill the promise of ‘Never again,’ ” wrote Pelosi in the museum’s memorial book.
Afterwards, the U.S. lawmakers toured the Krakow Jewish Community Center, where they received honorary membership. They then went to see the former Jewish ghetto wall, where they left roses in memory of Holocaust victims.
The delegation flew to Israel and met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, which started on Wednesday. The details of the meeting have yet to be released.
