JOINT RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER OF MAINE'S LEGISLATIVE AWARENESS DAY AND YOM HASHOAH, THE DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE WHO SUFFERED AS VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST

WHEREAS,   from 1933 to 1945, 6,000,000 Jews were murdered in the Holocaust as part of a systematic program of genocide, and millions of other people suffered as victims of Nazism; and

WHEREAS,  the people of the State of Maine should always remember the atrocities committed by the Nazis so that such horrors are never repeated; and

WHEREAS,  the people of the State of Maine should always remember those who liberated the Nazi concentration camps, some of whom lost their lives and others of whom have experienced lifelong emotional suffering, as holding an honored place in our history; and

WHEREAS,  the people of the State of Maine should continually rededicate themselves to the principle of equal justice for all people, remain eternally vigilant against all tyranny and recognize that bigotry provides a breeding ground for tyranny to flourish; and

WHEREAS,  March 12, 2008 has been designated as the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine's Legislative Awareness Day; and

WHEREAS,   each year there is a day designated internationally as a Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust that is known as Yom HaShoah; and

WHEREAS,  the national community, pursuant to an Act of Congress, will be commemorating the week of April 27 to May 4, 2008 as the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, with "Do Not Stand Silent: Remembering Kristallnacht 1938" as the focus for the 2008 observance; and

WHEREAS,  it is appropriate for the people of the State of Maine to join in this international commemoration; now, therefore, be it

That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Legislature now assembled in the Second Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, pause in solemn memory of the victims of the Holocaust, urge one and all to recommit themselves to the lessons of the Holocaust through the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine's Legislative Awareness Day and the international week of commemoration and express our common desire to continually strive to overcome prejudice and inhumanity through education, vigilance and resistance; and be it further

That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine and the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in Washington, D.C. on behalf of the people of the State of Maine.