Senate Resolution No. 298

BY: Senator THOMAS

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
January 27, 2023, as Holocaust Remembrance Day in
the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize
official days that are set aside to increase awareness of serious events
that affect the lives of the citizens of New York State; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing tradition, it is the sense of this Legislative Body to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27, 2023, as
Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of New York, in conjunction with
the observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day; and

WHEREAS, From 1933 to 1945, 5.8 million Jews were murdered in the
Nazi Holocaust as part of a systematic program of genocide, and millions
of other people also perished as victims of Nazism; and

WHEREAS, Jews who fell under German control in Eastern and Central
Europe were quickly and cruelly stripped of their rights and property;
and

WHEREAS, The Jews who perished at Nazi hands comprised two-thirds of
all European Jewry, and in countries such as Poland, which before the
second World War included parts of Ukraine and Belarus, the Jewish death
toll surpassed 90 percent; and

WHEREAS, The year 2023 marks the 90th Anniversary of the beginning
of the genocide of European Jews, which is the bleakest, most murderous
moment in history; and

WHEREAS, The Holocaust represents the darkest period in the history
of civilization of mankind and must always be remembered in order to
prevent its reoccurrence and promote respect and common humanity; and

WHEREAS, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed
on January 27th each year, is a day set aside for remembering the
millions of victims of the Holocaust; this date was designated by the
United Nations General Assembly on November 1, 2005, as it marks the
date when Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, which in its
operation murdered over one million Jews, was liberated by Soviet troops
in 1945, freeing over 7,000 prisoners; and

WHEREAS, The year 2023 marks the 78th Anniversary of the liberation
of Auschwitz-Birkenau; and

WHEREAS, Remembrance ceremonies are held throughout the United
States and around the world to remember the tragedy of the Holocaust on
January 27th, including at Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and in
the halls of the United Nations in New York City; and

WHEREAS, It is critically important to remember the events of the
Holocaust to ensure that the events shall never again happen, as has
been the rallying cry among the Jewish people; and

WHEREAS, Following the recent acts of hatred and violence against
the Jewish Community, it is critical that we stand together to decry all
forms of hate and bigotry in our communities and across this State, so
we ensure that suffering on the scale of the Holocaust truly never does
happen again; and

WHEREAS, Knowing that the events and root causes of the Holocaust
must not be forgotten and that, particularly as survivors diminish in
number, links must be forged to educate future generations; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27, 2023, as
Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.