On Holocaust Remembrance Day, House Passes Holocaust Education Bill

Press Release

Today, on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and Holocaust Memorial Day, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 943, the Never Again Education Act. The Never Again Education Act directs the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to develop and nationally disseminate Holocaust education resources to high school and middle school educators. This can include information on how to present and discuss the Holocaust, professional development for teachers through local museums, and engagement with other education agencies to incorporate Holocaust education in diverse disciplines. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-7) voted for the legislation and issued the following statement:

"In commemoration of this year's Holocaust Memorial Day, I participated in a 24 hour vigil in my district where the names of the victims were read so that they would never be forgotten. That memory is essential not only for remembering those we lost, but at ensuring it cannot happen again. We must remember the anti-Semitism and bigotry that paved the way for ghettos and death camps. And, further, education is the strongest weapon we have against the revisionists who seek to rewrite the history of the Holocaust, minimizing or erasing what happened to the Jewish people and excusing the perpetrators. That kind of revisionism is dangerous, and we must counter it with strong education. The sad fact is many young Americans are unaware of the facts about the Holocaust. We cannot allow ourselves to forget what happened. What's more, we cannot allow this to happen again. I'm proud that already, California is one of the few states to have a program like this in place. And I'm eager to see more Holocaust education included in curricula across the country. Only by understanding our past can we avoid repeating it."

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