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SUBJ/Department of Navy 2024 Holocaust Days of Remembrance and Remembrance 
Day//

RMKS/1.  The Department of the Navy observes the Holocaust Days of 
Remembrance from 5 - 12 May 2024, with Holocaust Remembrance Day occurring on 
6 May 2024.  We honor the victims and survivors each year of the merciless 
genocide that killed over six million Jewish people and millions of others, 
during the week that runs from the Sunday before Holocaust Remembrance Day 
(Yom HaShoah) through the following Sunday.  This year's theme, "Behind Every 
Name A Story:
The Courageous," is in honor of the late Adolfo Kaminsky whose forged 
identification papers are estimated to have saved 10,000-14,000 Jewish people 
from concentration camps.

2.  Despite the perils, 550,000 Jewish men and women served our Nation with 
distinction during World War II.  Some were captured by the Germans and 
placed in concentration camps, 10,000 were killed in combat, and 36,000 
received citations for valor.  While the number of people that directly 
survived the Holocaust is dwindling, their legacy continues in the form of 
their stories, which we must never forget.  I could not agree more with 
Kaminsky's words that, "all humans are equal... whatever their origins, their 
beliefs, their skin color."

3.  We must remember that the work to fight antisemitism and atrocities 
driven by hate continues, preventing problematic behavior well before it 
becomes unlawful, severe, or pervasive.  I want to remind everyone that the 
recent horrific rise in antisemitism is antithetical to our Core Values of 
Honor, Courage, and Commitment.  Understanding lessons from the past and 
taking responsibility for our future is the key to treating each other with 
dignity, courtesy, and respect, regardless of religion.

4.  For more information about the Holocaust and scheduled events to remember 
survivors and victims, I deeply encourage you to visit the National Archives 
at https://www.archives.gov/, 
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at https://www.ushmm.org/, or  
https://www.defenseculture.mil/Special-Observances/#days-of-remembrance-
holocaust-remembrance-day

5.  Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro Secretary of the Navy.//

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