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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.
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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.
Source:
www.whitehouse.gov
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