![]() So what does it mean to bear witness? Certainly it means to remember, as we today remember the singular horrors suffered by the Jews of Europe. That museum, and the ceremony we gather for this morning, ensure that we never forget. He told Marshall he had visited "to be in position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda."Įisenhower ordered that German civilians be shown the evidence of the bestial things that had been done in their names, on their doorsteps.Įisenhower's vow to bear witness to genocide is etched on a wall at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. ![]() Eisenhower recalled the overpowering scenes when he visited a camp near Gotha. In a letter to General George Marshall in April 1945, General Dwight D. His Supreme Commander made the same promise. But one theme is consistent above all: the determination to bear witness to what they had seen.Ĭorporal Evans vowed never to forget the Nazi Holocaust. The shock, the revulsion, and the inability to put into words what they saw. What is remarkable in reading the accounts of the liberators is how similar they are. I saw it myself and will never forget it." I had heard about concentration camps before, but was always suspicious about the accuracy of the stories. Evans said, "All of the horror story writers in their most morbid states of mind could not describe what I saw in just a few minutes. ![]() Half a century later, in a book he wrote to help his grandson understand the war, Mr. So Pierce's friend drove him and a few others to Lager #2. But the second, a concentration camp for Jewish prisoners, could not be described in mere words. Pierce Evans, a radioman from Florida, came across a buddy from another company who had seen two camps on the outskirts of town.Īt the first camp, a number of French prisoners had been liberated, and the men of the Division had shared some food with them. Infantry Division rolled into Landsberg, Germany. In many years of public service, I can think of no greater honor than to help remember those who perished in the Holocaust, salute those who survived, thank those who liberated, and renew our common commitment to human freedom and justice.Įxactly sixty-one years ago today, on April 27, 1945, the 103d U.S. I was deeply moved by your invitation to join this gathering. Survivors, liberators, Members of Congress, Ambassador Ayalon and Excellencies, Fred Zeidman, Sara Bloomfield, ladies and gentlemen. National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance
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