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Skriven 2005-01-26 23:34:42 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0501266) for Wed, 2005 Jan 26
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Vice President's Remarks at Reception for Survivors of Auschwitz
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
January 26, 2005

Vice President's Remarks at Reception for Survivors of Auschwitz




Galicia Jewish Museum

Krakow, Poland

AMABASSADOR ASHE: Dzien Dobry. It's a pleasure for me today as the
Ambassador to be able to welcome you all to this wonderful Galicia Museum
and to be a part of President Bush's delegation here for the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp. Before
I introduce our honored guests I want to recognize the very distinguished
members of our Presidential delegation. Congressman Lantos and his lovely
wife Mrs. Lantos, Annette, who is a ranking member of the House Committee
on International Affairs, Fred Schwartz I am glad to have you hear as well.
Dr. Deborah Lipenstock from Atlanta where my brother lives and of course,
Fred Brooks who is here as well. Mr. and Mrs. Eli Weisel are en route, are
here in Krakow but not here yet. And of course our excellent Consul General
Ken Fairfax and his wife Diana are here with us this evening. It is a
pleasure for me and a distinct honor to be able to represent the President
of the United States and the American people as the Ambassador, but it is
an equal honor to be able to welcome the Vice President of the United
States and his wife, Lynne, who is commencing his second term as vice
president but a person who has a resume and a background that makes him
probably the most uniquely qualified individual to ever serve in this
incredibly important office. It is my pleasure to present to you the Vice
President of the United States Richard Cheney.

VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Thank you very much Mr. Ambassador and distinguished
guests. Lynne and I are delighted to be here this evening and want to thank
all of you for joining us. I had the privilege of visiting Auschwitz once
before with President Ford in 1975 en route to the Helsinki Summit in
Finland and although it was some 30 years ago, it was one of those days
that you never forget, and I was pleased to be asked by President Bush to
lead the delegation to come commemorate the 60th anniversary. I am honored
to make the journey once again and participate in the ceremonies. It's been
a special honor as well to be in the company of Americans who survived the
Holocaust. I remember reading General Eisenhower's account of seeing one of
the Nazi death camps at the end of World War II. He wrote, and I quote: I
visited every nook and cranny of the camp because I felt it my duty to be
in a position from then on to testify at first hand about these things in
case it ever grew up at home the belief or the assumption that the stories
of Nazi brutality were just propaganda. Eisenhower was one of the many who
were determined to let the world know what happened, and to ensure that the
evidence be kept so that the terrible truth could never be forgotten or
erased. We have the preservation of memory at the camps themselves and for
these last 60 years, we will have lived amongst survivors of the camps, and
America and the world are grateful for your witness. As prisoners, you saw
the face of systematic merciless cruelty, that killed innocent people of
many nationalities and religious backgrounds, and murdered Jews only
because they were Jews. But you also saw among your fellow captives great
courage and acts of kindness. For six decades, you shared horror stories,
recalling the horrors that you witnessed, keeping alive the memory of good
people, righteous people, who did no wrong and who no man had any right to
harm. Today many Holocaust survivors have children and grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. That, I believe, is the greatest victory of all. Evil
did not have the final say. You survived terror. You have let the world
know the truth, and you have preserved the memory of those who perished
here. Tomorrow-prior to the official ceremony-I am privileged to join Eli
Wiesel in speaking to an international forum with many young people in
attendance. I will remind them these great evils of history were
perpetuated not in some remote uncivilized part of the world, but in the
very heart of the civilized world. Men without conscience are capable of
any cruelty the human mind can imagine. Therefore we must teach every
generation the values of tolerance and decency and moral courage. And in
every generation, free nations must maintain the will, the foresight and
the strength to fight tyranny and spread the freedom that leads to peace.
Our presence in Krakow today, together with our European and Israeli
friends, shows our determination to oppose anti-Semitism, religious
intolerance, bigotry and genocide. We must face down hatred together. We
are dedicated to the task at hand, and we will never forget. Let he who
makes peace in the heavens grant peace to all of us. Thank you very much
for joining us.

END

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