Bill Text: MI SR0003 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Enrolled

Michigan Senate Resolution 3 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: A resolution observing January 27, 2009, as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2009-01-27 - Adopted [SR0003 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2009-SR0003-Enrolled.html

SR-3, As Adopted by Senate, January 27, 2009

Senator Kahn offered the following resolution:

Senate Resolution No. 3.

A resolution observing January 27, 2009, as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Whereas, In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as an annual international day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Nazi era. This date marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. On January 27, 1945, Allied forces entered Auschwitz and liberated more than 7,000 remaining prisoners, who were mostly ill and dying. It is estimated that at minimum 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945; of these, at least 1.1 million were murdered; and

Whereas, The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the years 1933 through 1945. Six million Jews were murdered and millions more, including Gypsies, the handicapped, Poles, Jehovah�s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents, suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi tyranny; and

Whereas, The history of the Holocaust offers an opportunity to reflect on the moral responsibilities of individuals, societies, and governments; and serves as an important reminder of what can happen to civilized people when bigotry, hatred, and indifference reign; and

Whereas, When the goodness of mankind was in question, there were individuals who selflessly risked their lives in order to save others from the evils of Nazi Germany; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate, That the members of this legislative body proclaim January 27, 2009, as the day of remembrance in the state of Michigan; and be it further

Resolved, That in honor of the victims of the Holocaust, the survivors, and their liberators, the citizens of Michigan reflect upon the terrible events of the Holocaust and strive to overcome intolerance and indifference through learning and remembrance.