“It’s something I feel very strongly about,” said Bothell Mayor Mark Lamb regarding why he took steps to issue a proclamation recognizing the Days of Remembrance, April 11-18.
Each year during Days of Remembrance, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., leads the nation in commemorating the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution.
In honor of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, the museum has designated “Stories of Freedom: What You Do Matters” as the theme for the 2010 observance.
Lamb said the city routinely receives dozens of requests for proclamations from various organizations, charities or supporters of one cause or another. He said clearly the city cannot act on each and every one. But he again said the Holocaust is something on which he harbors strong feelings.
“There are people, leaders in the world today, who deny the Holocaust ever happened or who deny what the purpose of the Holocaust was,” Lamb said, adding he feels it is important that the events of the Holocaust not be forgotten, that younger generations be reminded of what happened.
According to the Holocaust Museum Web site, Bothell is the only Washington city to pass a proclamation marking the Days of Remembrance.
“What we do matters, and each of us has the potential to shape the world in which we live,” says U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield. “Sixty-five years ago, courageous U.S. and Allied troops fighting to defeat Nazi Germany liberated concentration camps throughout occupied Europe. By keeping alive these stories of freedom, the museum encourages people everywhere to confront hatred and promote human dignity.”
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum sponsors the national commemoration in the U.S. Capitol Building. This year’s national ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m., EDT, April 15 and will be Webcast live.
