Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, marked the Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust with a statement on Thursday to remember the 6 million Jews and millions of others murdered by the German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II and the Holocaust.
He stated that “we also honor the survivors who were subjected to unspeakable suffering.”
Rubio said Americans are “eternally indebted to the generation who fought fascism and saved the world from Nazi tyranny,” noting the 80th anniversary by Allied troops of the liberation of prisoners from Nazi concentration and death camps.
Auschwitz, the largest of the camps, was liberated by Russian troops on Jan. 27, 1945.
Asserting that the United States “remains firm in its commitment to fight global antisemitism and safeguard Jewish communities worldwide” and has “continued to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust and the vicious antisemitism and state terror that fueled it,” Rubio said the country must ensure that “the history, and the facts, of the Holocaust are not denied or distorted.”
U.S. President Donald Trump asked Americans on Wednesday—Yom Hashoah—to observe these days by upholding “the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution by remembering the lessons of this atrocity so that it is never repeated.”
The request came in a presidential proclamation, honoring “the blessed memories of the six million Jewish men, women, and children who were viciously slaughtered by the genocidal Nazi regime and their collaborators—one of the bleakest hours in human history,” while also recognizing victims of the Holocaust from other targeted groups.
“We once again honor every Holocaust survivor who has imparted their wisdom to younger generations,” Trump wrote. “Today and every day, we commit to preserving their stories.”
The Days of Remembrance started on Sunday and will run through April 27. Trump wrote that this week marks a time to “reflect upon the dark affront to human dignity posed by Nazis.”
