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U.S. Department of State 93/024/21 Address at Holocaust Museum Dedication Office of the Spokesman Address by Secretary of State Warren Christopher at luncheon honoring the Holocaust Museum Dedication April 21, 1993 Washington, DC I am most pleased to welcome you to the Department of State and to have an opportunity myself to participate in the events surrounding the dedication of the Holocaust Museum. I can't resist on this solemn occasion saying a word about what a great pleasure it is for us here in the Department of State to have the presence, I think, probably of the largest number of heads of state that have ever been in this room at one time. It is the event that has drawn us together, but it's a signal event, and I'm very grateful to all of you for having come to Washington to attend this very solemn and very powerful occasion. None of us can know how the history of the 20th century will be judged, but even from this close vantage point one thing is certain: When the book of our age is written, its pages will forever be stained by the horror of the Holocaust. Ultimately, the judgment of history will be--indeed, it must be--weighed in human terms. The Holocaust Museum, which is the occasion for our being together, brings home the terrible cost of intolerance and indifference; the cost measured in priceless people, lives shattered beyond comprehension, communities consumed by the fires of hate. We properly refer to these atrocities as being inhuman. But we must take great care not to let this characterization distance us from the events of the inhumanity. We cannot allow ourselves, even for a moment, to believe that human beings are incapable of engaging in such conduct again and again. We must remember those lost lives, and we must remember how they were lost. This extraordinary museum which we have come to dedicate compels us to reflect on the sanity of our own time, the insanity of another time, the sanctity of human life, and on our duty to protect the dignity of all human beings. It represents an eloquent reflection of the growing international recognition that respect for human rights is vital to international security. That same realization, the realization that human rights are a fundamental part of our foreign policy, has had a profound effect upon the conduct of American diplomacy. Our State Department here needs to act as America's ears, eyes, and voices to the governments around the world. Today, perhaps in contradistinction to an earlier time, we expect our diplomats to do more than report events and calculate geopolitical interests. We, too, as diplomats must bear witness. We must advocate human rights. In our work and in our policies, we must reflect the human and democratic values that Americans cherish and that people of good temper around the world cherish. President Clinton has called the promotion of democratic values one of the essential pillars of US foreign policy. As Secretary of State, I intend to do my utmost to ensure that the United States responds to the unprecedented opportunities and the unusual challenges that we face as we seek to protect and enlarge human freedom. Building a world of peace and freedom fundamentally means that we must all strive together, individually and collectively, to create conditions in which human dignity is respected and the human spirit can thrive. In short, we must create the essential conditions for hope. The Holocaust Museum stands as a monument to the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust: fathers, mothers, children, grandparents, whole families-- nearly the entire world of European Jewry. These millions of individuals will not be forgotten. The murdered Jew, the gypsy, the dissident, the righteous gentile, and the other victims--they will not be forgotten. The museum also stands as a reminder of the terrible cruelty that some human beings are capable of inflicting upon others. These unspeakable acts will also not be forgotten, and we must do our very best to ensure that they will not be repeated. Thanks to the Holocaust Museum, those lost lives and the acts which took them from us will live in our nation's collective memory, just as they must live in our collective consciousness. That memory--the memory of those events-- and our own personal conscience command us to say never again. The very creation of the state of Israel and its survival as a healthy, sovereign, and secure nation reflect our collective determination that the Jewish people will never again be subjected to the horror of the Holocaust. In closing, I can think of no more fitting way to pay tribute to those lost lives--lives that were once so full of dreams and hopes--than to now ask you to join me in a solemn toast, a toast to recommit ourselves to responsibility for one another and to a world that has no room for hatred, no place for violence. Please join me. Thank you. (###)