2023 30thAnniversaryCommemorativeBook SINGLEPAGES-small - Flipbook - Page 59
DOCUMENTING
THE EVIDENCE
In 1978, I was a deputy
to Stuart Eizenstat on
the White House staff
for domestic policy for
President Carter. Based on a
recommendation from our
office, President Carter created a
presidential commission to report
on an appropriate memorial to the
Holocaust. This, of course, led to
the creation of the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum. Fortyfour years later, Stuart Eizenstat
was appointed as Chairman of the
United States Holocaust Memorial
Council, serving alongside Vice
Chairman Allan Holt, my colleague
and friend of over 20 years. This
made 2022 the perfect time to endow
the Museum’s David M. Rubenstein
National Institute for Holocaust
Documentation in honor of these two
remarkable men, who have played
such vital roles in the formation and
growth of the Museum.
reminder that we need to be vigilant
in protecting truth and preserving
historical evidence. We study history
to avoid the mistakes of the past, and
the Holocaust—the wholesale killing
of six million people solely because
they were Jewish—was one of the
worst things that has ever happened
since civilization began. As we move
forward in time and all the survivors
and eyewitnesses are gone, some
people may forget it, some people
may deny it, and some people may
say it doesn’t make a difference.
I want to make sure that people are
reminded of the Holocaust and all
of the horrors associated with it. By
preserving the physical evidence of
these crimes through the Museum’s
vast collection of artifacts, we will
be able to remind people of the
tragedies of the past, as well as the
triumphs of the past, so we can have
more triumphs and fewer tragedies
in the future.”
The alarming rise in antisemitism
and Holocaust denial we are
currently witnessing in the United
States and around the world is a stark
SAFEGUARDING TRUTH FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS l 57