J 229: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27, 2025, as Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of New York

 Senate Resolution No. 229 BY: Senator KRUEGER MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27, 2025, as Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official days that are set aside to increase awareness of serious events that affect the lives of the citizens of New York State; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing tradition, it is the sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27, 2025, as Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day; and WHEREAS, From 1933 to 1945, 5.8 million Jews were murdered in the Nazi Holocaust as part of a systematic program of genocide, and millions of other people also perished as victims of Nazism; and WHEREAS, Jews who fell under German control in Eastern and Central Europe were quickly and cruelly stripped of their rights and property; and WHEREAS, The Jews who perished at Nazi hands comprised two-thirds of all European Jewry, and in countries such as Poland, which before the second World War included parts of Ukraine and Belarus, the Jewish death toll surpassed 90 percent; and WHEREAS, The year 2025 marks the 92nd Anniversary of the beginning of the genocide of European Jews, which is the bleakest, most murderous moment in history; and WHEREAS, The Holocaust represents the darkest period in the history of civilization of mankind and must always be remembered in order to prevent its reoccurrence and promote respect and common humanity; and WHEREAS, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed on January 27th each year, is a day set aside for remembering the millions of victims of the Holocaust; this date was designated by the United Nations General Assembly on November 1, 2005, as it marks the date when Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, which in its operation murdered over one million Jews, was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945, freeing over 7,000 prisoners; and WHEREAS, The year 2025 marks the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau; and WHEREAS, Remembrance ceremonies are held throughout the United States and around the world to remember the tragedy of the Holocaust on January 27th, including at Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and in the halls of the United Nations in New York City; and WHEREAS, It is critically important to remember the events of the Holocaust to ensure that the events shall never again happen, as has been the rallying cry among the Jewish people; and WHEREAS, Following the recent acts of hatred and violence against the Jewish Community, it is critical that we stand together to decry all forms of hate and bigotry in our communities and across this State, so we ensure that suffering on the scale of the Holocaust truly never does happen again; and WHEREAS, Knowing that the events and root causes of the Holocaust must not be forgotten and that, particularly as survivors diminish in number, links must be forged to educate future generations; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 27, 2025, as Holocaust Remembrance Day in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York.