Holocaust survivors, World War II veterans, and distinguished guests gathered in Emancipation Hall to remember the six million Jewish people killed during the Holocaust. Photo by Kristie Boyd.
Holocaust survivors and veterans who liberated Nazi concentration camps were honored at the ceremony. Photo by Ike Hayman.
Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, discussed her personal relationship with the Holocaust and how the Treasury imposed economic sanctions on Nazi Germany. Photo by Ike Hayman.
Holocaust survivors lit six remembrance candles during the ceremony. Photo by Kristie Boyd.
Survivors and veterans gather to remember Holocaust victims
On April 29, Holocaust survivors, soldiers who liberated Nazi concentration camps, and other distinguished guests gathered at the United States Capitol to commemorate the Holocaust Days of Remembrance.
Six million Jewish people were killed by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945, during what is now known as the Holocaust. In 1980, Congress established the Days of Remembrance to commemorate those victims.
Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence for the Department of the Treasury, shared how her own family was affected by the Holocaust.
"As I stand here, I can feel the presence of my grandparents who did not survive the Holocaust," she said. Mandelker discussed how the Treasury Department fought "the unseen front," referring to economic sanctions imposed on countries controlled by Nazi Germany during World War II.
"[The Treasury Department] managed to freeze literally billions of dollars, keeping that money out of the hands of Hitler and the Nazis," she said. "The United States was using its economic might long before they entered the war militarily."
Leaders from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well as the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, also made remarks during the ceremony. As the ceremony closed, victims' names were read out loud to the crowd as Holocaust survivors lit six remembrance candles.