Res. No. 673-B

Resolution recognizing January 27, 2019 as Holocaust Remembrance Day and the week beginning on January 27, 2019 as a citywide week of Holocaust Education in New York City.

By Council Members Deutsch, Cabrera, Constantinides, Grodenchik, Espinal, Kallos, Koslowitz, Rosenthal, Gibson, Dromm, Lander, Rodriguez, Torres, Vallone, Chin, Treyger, Levin and R. Diaz

Whereas, The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, and state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews, including one and half million children, from 1933 to 1945; and,

Whereas, In addition to wiping out a third of the global Jewish population, the Nazi regime also undertook the targeted murder of minority groups, opposition forces and specific ethnic populations; and,

Whereas, In total this killing resulted in the deaths of millions and included: homosexuals, people with disabilities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, resistance and opposition members, academics, and Gypsy (Roma), Serbian, non-Jewish Polish and Soviet civilians; and, 

Whereas, While all of these groups were deliberately targeted by the Nazi eugenics program or for their political opposition, the Holocaust was driven by deep-seeded anti-Semitism; and, 

Whereas, In efforts to exterminate the Jewish population, the Nazi regime established prisons, forced labor, concentration and death camps, such as Aushwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka and Theresienstadt; and,

Whereas, There were nearly 40,000 of these camps across Germany and its occupied territories; and,

Whereas, January 27 was designated International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust by the United Nations; and,

Whereas, This date commemorates the day that the largest of the concentration camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was finally liberated; and,

Whereas, The atrocities committed by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust remains one of the most inhumane periods of modern history; and,

Whereas, The remnants of its destruction are felt still today; and,

Whereas, In addition to the slaughter of millions of people, the Nazis destroyed synagogues and yeshivas in an effort to obliterate Jewish culture and religion; and,

Whereas, Many great Rabbis and other scholars were also murdered during the Holocaust; and,

Whereas, The Holocaust is a devastating reminder of the effects of hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism; and,

Whereas, Therefore, every possible effort should be made to ensure that the immeasurable loss caused by the Holocaust, in terms of human lives, lineage, and heritage, be remembered; and,

 Whereas, This recognition will not reconcile the suffering but it can provide an avenue for learning from the past in order to prevent future atrocities; and,

Whereas, Dedicating January 27, 2019 as Holocaust Remembrance Day and the week beginning on January 27, 2019 as a citywide week of Holocaust Education in New York City would facilitate this; and,

Whereas, Recognizing January 27, 2019 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in New York City would show international solidarity with the day assigned by the United Nations; and,

Whereas, Meanwhile, a citywide week of Holocaust Education beginning on January 27, 2019 throughout New York City’s schools would foster understanding of the tragedy of the Holocaust; and,

Whereas, This examination can be an avenue for learning about the impacts that the Holocaust continues to have on the present-day; and, 

Whereas, Highlighting the history of the Holocaust would help educate City residents about the past and encourage empathy towards others; and, 

Whereas, As there are nearly 45,000 Holocaust survivors living in New York City, it is important that the history of the Holocaust, specifically those who died as a result of this event, is remembered and taught within New York City; and  

Whereas, Recognizing January 27, 2019 as Holocaust Remembrance Day and the week beginning on January 27, 2019 as a citywide week of Holocaust Education in New York City is a statement in favor of humanity; and,

Whereas, Such commemorations acknowledge the suffering of survivors and all those impacted by this moment in history; and,  

Whereas, This helps make the city a better place by valuing humanity above all else, remembering those who have died in or and survived the Holocaust, and preventing a similar event from ever happening; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York recognizes January 27, 2019 as Holocaust Remembrance Day and the week beginning on January 27, 2019 as a citywide week of Holocaust Education in New York City.

KK/LMS

LS #9301

1/15/19