Today, President Donald J. Trump, during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, signed into law H.R. 943, the Never Again Education Act, which directs the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to develop and disseminate resources to promote a better understanding of the Holocaust, and authorizes Holocaust education programs to engage teachers and educational leaders.
During the Holocaust, the Nazis and their sympathizers systematically persecuted and brutally murdered 6 million Jews and millions of others across Europe. The fascist and evil ideology of the Nazis demanded singular loyalty to the state and eliminated God-given human liberties, while denigrating key components of civil society, including freedom of thought and religion. Their virulent anti-Semitism combined with this totalitarian thinking led to an attempt at annihilation on a scale the world had never known.
Unfortunately, anti-Semitism continues to exist in the world and anti-Semitic incidents have increased in America since 2013. The vile, hate-filled poison of anti-Semitism must be condemned and confronted everywhere it appears. This legislation will help ensure that future generations know and remember the tragic history of the Holocaust, reflect accurately on how evil and intolerance briefly overcame humanity, and how the strong march of American-led freedom across Europe ended the genocide of the Jewish people. It is through education, the sharing of stories and images, and the analysis of that dark time in human history that we can help prevent its recurrence.
Consistent with this bill’s name, the United States will not stand for the mass persecution and mass murder like that perpetrated during the Holocaust. This Administration will always work to ensure future generations never forget the Holocaust, that they condemn racial hatred of all types, and that they always work to protect the right of all people to worship freely.
