Days of Remembrance

WHEREAS, the Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945; and

WHEREAS, Jews were the primary victims, with six million murdered; Gypsies, the handicapped and Poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic or national reasons; and

WHEREAS, millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war and political dissidents, also 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

WHEREAS, the people of the State of Alabama should always remember the terrible events of the Holocaust and remain vigilant against hatred, persecution and tyranny; and

WHEREAS, the people of the State of Alabama should actively rededicate ourselves to the principles of individual freedom in a just society; and

WHEREAS, the Days of Remembrance have been set aside for the people of the State of Alabama to remember the victims of the Holocaust as well as to reflect on the need for respect of all peoples; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to an Act of Congress (Public Law 96-388, October 7, 1980) the United States Holocaust Memorial Council designates the Days of Remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust to be Sunday, May 1 through Sunday, May 8, 2011, including the Day of Remembrance known as Yom Hashoah, May 1, 2011:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim May 1 through May 8, 2011, as

Days of Remembrance

in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and in honor of the survivors, as well as the rescuers and liberators, and further proclaim that we, as citizens of the State of Alabama, should work to promote human dignity and confront hate whenever and wherever it occurs.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 27th day of April 2011.

 

      

Governor Robert Bentley