 The eternal torch in Yad Vashem Yerushalayim is testimony to their message and their sacrifice. Dov Sholansky and Gidon Hausler have brought the flame from Yerushalayim to us for this gathering. Chalatzdi Nafshi Mimovas now has delivered my soul from death. You have saved me and my fellow survivors from the clutches of death. Forty years later, still haunted by the memories of our parents and children burned in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and the other places of Nazi hell, we remember Zahar Gedank and we did rebuild our lives, started new homes, started new families and raised a new generation. For many of us, those too were lonely years in strange lands. But although we became proud Americans and proud Jewish Americans, we could not separate ourselves from our past. But sadly, even in our own lifetimes survivors of the Holocaust, we have come to see the Holocaust denied, lost ones, to join together with the leadership of this country to share the glory of our close ties, our close ties with the State of Israel. President of the United States, my ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States and Mrs. Regan. Thank you. Thank you very much. President Mead, Chairman Wiesel, the other distinguished leaders of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, participants in the American gathering of Jewish Holocaust survivors, members of the second generation, friends, survivors. Tonight, we stand together to give thanks to America for providing freedom and liberty and for many here tonight, a second home and a second life. The opportunity to join with you this evening as a representative of the people of the United States will be for me a cherished memory. I am proud to accept your thanks on behalf of our fellow Americans and also to express our gratitude to you for choosing America, for being the good citizen, for being the good citizens that you are and for reminding us of how important it is to remain true to our ideals as individuals and as a nation. We are here, first and foremost, to remember. These are the days of remembrance. Yom HaShoah. Ours is the only nation other than Israel that marks this time with an official national observance. For the last two years, I've had the privilege of participating personally in the days of remembrance commemoration as President Carter did before me. May we take a moment to pause and contemplate, perhaps in silent prayer, the magnitude of this occasion, the millions of lives, the courage and dignity, the malevolence and hatred and what it all means to our lives and the decisions that we make more than a generation later. Would you please join me and stand in a tribute to those who are not with us for a moment of silence? Amen. In the early days of our country, our first president, George Washington, visited a Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. In response to their address, he wrote them a now rather famous letter reflecting on the meaning of America's newly won freedom. He wrote, all possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship, for happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens. Well, certainly our country doesn't have a spotless record, but our fundamental beliefs, the ones that inspired Washington and that letter, are sound. Our whole way of life is based on a compact between good and decent people, a voluntary agreement to live here together in freedom, respecting the rights of others and expecting that our rights in return will be respected. But the freedom we enjoy carries with it a tremendous responsibility. You, the survivors of the Holocaust, remind us of that. Good and decent people must not close their eyes to evil, must not ignore the suffering of the innocent, and must never remain silent and inactive in times of moral crisis. A generation ago, the American people felt like many others in the Western world, that they could simply ignore the expanding power of a totalitarian ideology. Looking back now, we must admit that the warning signs were there, but the world refused to see. The words and ideology of the Nazis were rationalized, explained away as if they had no meaning. Violations of religious freedom, the attacks on Jewish property, the censorship, the heavy taxes imposed on those who wish to emigrate, even the first concentration camps, all this ignored, as was the incredible expansion of Germany's war machine. A few brave voices tried to warn of the danger. Winston Churchill was driven into the political wilderness for speaking the unpleasant truth. There were also those who, in their sincere desire for peace, were all too ready to give totalitarians every benefit of the doubt, and all too quick to label Churchill a warm hunger. Well, time has proven that those who gloss on the brutality of tyrants are no friends of peace or freedom. Tonight, let us pledge that we will never shut our eyes, never refuse to acknowledge the truth, no matter how unpleasant. If nothing else, the painful memory we share should strengthen our resolve to do this. Our founding fathers believed in certain self-evident truths, but for truth to prevail, we have the courage to proclaim it. Last week, we reaffirmed our belief in the most meaningful truths of our Judeo-Christian heritage, Passover and Easter. These two religious observances link our faiths and celebrate the liberation of the body and soul. The rites of Passover remind us of the freeing of our common ancestors from the yoke of Pharaoh's bondage and their exodus to freedom. And today, you bear witness to a modern-day exodus from the darkness of unspeakable horror to the light and refuge of safe heavens, the two most important being America and what soon became the State of Israel. As a man whose heart is with you and as president of a people you are now so much a part of, I promise you that the security of your safe haven here and in Israel will never be compromised. Our most sacred task now is ensuring that the memory of this greatest of human tragedies, the Holocaust, never fades. That its lessons are not forgotten. Although so much has been written and said, words somehow are never enough. If a young person, the son or daughter of a neighbor or friend, should die or suffer a terrible illness, we feel the sorrow and share the pain. But how can we share the agony of a million young people suffering unspeakable deaths? It's almost too great a burden for the human soul. Indeed, its very enormity may make it seem unreal. Simon Wazenthal has said, when a hundred people die, it's a catastrophe. When a million people die, it's just a statistic. We must see to it that the immeasurable pain of the Holocaust is not dehumanized, that it is not examined clinically and dispassionately, that its significance is not lost on this generation or any future generation. Though it is now a dry scar, we cannot let the bleeding wound be forgotten. Only when it is personalized will it be real enough to play a role in the decisions we make. Those victims who cannot be with us today do a vital service to mankind by being remembered. But we must be their vessel of remembrance. This reunion is part of our duty to them. Ben Mead, by serving as the catalyst for this historic event, you exemplify the meaning of good citizenship. America is lucky to have you. Elie Wiesel, you have done so much for so many years now. For all you've done, thank you for your noble effort. Americans can be proud that with the help of these two men and many others, we're moving forward to build a Holocaust memorial, a living museum here in the nation's capital. And it is being financed as is this gathering by voluntary contributions, by Jews and Gentiles, by citizens from every walk of life, of every race and creed, who grasp the importance to our soul and to our well-being of seeing, of understanding, and of remembering. Imparting the message of the Holocaust, using it to reinforce the moral fiber of our society is much more than a Jewish responsibility. It rests upon all of us who not immobilized by cynicism and negativism believe that mankind is capable of greater goodness. For just as the genocide of the Holocaust debased civilization, the outcome of the struggle against those who ran the camps and committed the atrocities gives us hope that the brighter side of the human spirit will at the end triumph. During the dark days when terror reigned on the continent of Europe, there were quiet heroes, men and women whose moral fiber held firm. Some of those are called righteous Gentiles. At this solemn time, we remember them also. Alexander Roslin and his wife, for example, now live in Clearwater, Florida, but during the war they lived in Poland and they hid three Jewish children in their home for more than four years. They knew the terrible risk they were taking. Once when German soldiers searched their home, the Roslins kept serving wine and whiskey until the troops were so drunk they forgot what they were looking for. Later, Roslin's own son was in the hospital with scarlet fever. The boy hid half of the medicine under his pillow so he could give it to the Jewish children. His family were hiding because they too had scarlet fever. There are many such stories. The picture west town of Assisi, Italy sheltered and protected 300 Jews. Father Raffino Nicacci organized the effort hiding people in his monastery and in the homes of parishioners. A slip of the tongue by a single informant could have condemned the entire village to the camps, yet they did not yield. And, of course, there was Raoul Wallenberg, one of the moral giants of our time whose courage saved thousands. He could have remained in his native Sweden safe from the conflagration that engulfed the continent. He chose to follow his conscience. Yes, we remember him too. I would affirm, as President of the United States and, if you would permit me, in the names of the survivors, that if those who took him from Budapest would win our trust, let them start by giving us an accounting of Raoul Wallenberg. Wallenberg and others who displayed such bravery did not consider themselves heroes. I understand that some of them, when asked about why they risk so much, often for complete strangers, replied, it was the right thing to do, and that was that. It was just their way. That kind of moral character, unfortunately, was the exception and not the rule. But for that very reason, it is a consciousness we must foster. Earlier I described our country as a compact between good and decent people. I believe this because it is the love of freedom not nationalistic rituals and symbols that unites us. And because of this, we are also bound in spirit to all those who yearn to be free and to live without fear. We are the keepers of the flame of liberty. I understand that in Hebrew the word for engraved is harut. It is very similar to the word for freedom, herut. Tonight we recognize that for freedom to survive and prosper, it must be engraved in our character so that when confronted with fundamental choices we will do what is right because that is our way. Looking around this room tonight, looking around this room tonight, I realize that although we come from many lands we share a wealth of common experiences. Many of us remember the time before the Second World War. How we and our friends reacted to certain events has not faded from our memory. There are also in this room many young people, sons and daughters, maybe even a few grandchildren. Perhaps some of the younger ones can't understand why we're making so much of a fuss. Perhaps some of them think we're too absorbed by the heartaches of the past and should move on. Well, what we do tonight is not for us. It's for them. We who are old enough to remember must make certain those who take our place understand. So if a youngster should ask you why you're here, just tell that young person because I love God, because I love my country, because I love you, Zachor. I can't close without remembering something else. Some years ago I was sent on a mission to Denmark. And while there, I heard stories of the war and I heard how the order had gone out for the Danish people under the Nazi occupation to identify the Jews among them. And the next day, every Dane appeared on the street wearing a star of David. Thank you all, and God bless you. Thank you, Mr. President. The way you were received is the best response the way we feel about you. Mr. President and Mrs. Reagan, could you kindly join me at this podium as this is indeed a historic occasion marking equally historic event. 38 years ago today, American troops under the command of General Eisenhower liberated Buchenwald. Many of the people in front of you, Mr. President, are survivors of Buchenwald and other concentration camps. And remember that day as it was yesterday, among those survivors was also our chairman, our dear friend, the chairman of the United Holocaust Memorial Council, our dear professor, friend, Elie Wiesel. Jewish chaplains were sent to the camps. Among them was a young Jewish chaplain who spoke to the survivors in Yiddish. And he walked around with a megaphone shouting, Jews, you are free. Yidniers and Frey. While he walked into the camp, he picked up a young child in his arm and spoke tenderly to him gently and beautifully, convincing him the longer deal was over. Vote that chaplain, Rabbi Herzl Schechter and that child who has traveled from Israel to Yifra by Netanyah in Israel. Both of them present to many of us the journey from freedom to new lives. And now, Mr. President, we deeply appreciate your message which you delivered to us and to the world. We are transmitting now to you and through you to the American people a scroll of remembrance, our collective legacy signed individually by 15,000 survivors and their children and dedicated to America and to the people and humanity. All those assembled here and although those who could not come here are still present with us tonight. And I would like, Mr. President, to have the privilege to present to you the scroll of remembrance. Forgetfulness leads to exile by remembrance as the secret of redemption. It's written on the walls in Yad Vashem. It's written by... it's a saying from Balchento. Together from the Holocaust to new life a scroll of remembrance to the people of the United States of America. Forty years the time it took our ancestors to walk from Egypt to the promised land has brought us from Warsaw to Washington from the flames of the ghetto to the capital of the United States. But 40 years have not dimmed our memory. We shall never forget. We shall remember forever the martyrdom of our people of the six million who were murdered solely because they were Jews. The massive brutality of their annihilation cannot diminish the integrity of their lives. Seared into our consciousness our deportations, death marches, starvation, guessing, crematoriums, mass graves, Auschwitz, Treblinka, Dachau, Bergen-Welzen have transformed the moral landscape of civilization while for after Auschwitz there is no no limit to evil. We recall with pride the numerality the resistance of those brave men and women who answered the call of arms in Warsaw, Bialystok, Vilna and other places and other ghettos in camps and forests throughout the Nazi-occupied Europe. We are moved by the rabbi who continue to teach to the student to dare to learn to the parent who held the child and to a friend to remain the friend. We can never forget the fatal silence of a world resided to a comfort, hatred, reluctant to rescue acquisition to goal of our expressors but we honor the righteous few who embrace the isolated and restored human image. After our liberation America provided a port of refuge and opportunity. Others of us found a home in the future in the land of the Jewish dreams in Israel where we witness the miracle of our national rebirth for the Holocaust survivors the United States, Israel and Canada which allowed us to rebuild our lives with dignity represent hope for humanity. We remain grateful to the Allied Forces for defeating the Nazi killers and liberating us from hell and we pay tribute to all those who sacrificed their lives to conquer tyranny. As we gather with our children and grandchildren we bequeat to America to Israel and to the world all that that we have experienced all that that we remember and all that that we have learned may our suffering serve as a warning may our legacy preserve as mankind from another Holocaust. Signed by the American gathering of Jewish Holocaust survivors by the members of the Steering and Executive Committee and followed by the volumes of signatures of 15,000 survivors. Navy Band in God Bless America.