Second Regular Session
Seventy-third General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REVISED
LLS NO. R22-0985.01 Asia Merrill x4829
HJR22-1020
House Committees Senate Committees
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 22-1020
C
ONCERNING THE COMME MORATION OF THE HOLOCAUST.101
WHEREAS, The genesis of genocide begins not with violence but1
with words; and2
WHEREAS, Prejudice, bigotry, bias, and racism have been the3
causes of conflict, war, and mass atrocities throughout human history; and4
WHEREAS, The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic,5
state-sponsored persecution and murder of Jews by the Nazi regime and6
its collaborators in Germany and occupied lands; and7
WHEREAS, The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in8
January 1933, asserted that Germans were racially superior and that Jews9
and others were inferior and an alien threat to the so-called German racial10
community; and11
SENATE
Final Reading
May 6, 2022
HOUSE
Final Reading
April 28, 2022
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Michaelson Jenet and Pelton, Amabile, Bacon, Baisley, Benavidez, Bernett, Bird,
Bockenfeld, Boesenecker, Bradfield, Caraveo, Carver, Catlin, Cutter, Daugherty, Duran,
Esgar, Exum, Froelich, Garnett, Geitner, Gonzales-Gutierrez, Gray, Herod, Holtorf, Hooton,
Jodeh, Kennedy, Kipp, Larson, Lindsay, Lontine, Luck, Lynch, McCluskie, McCormick,
McKean, McLachlan, Mullica, Neville, Ortiz, Pico, Ransom, Rich, Ricks, Roberts, Sandridge,
Sirota, Snyder, Soper, Sullivan, Tipper, Titone, Valdez A., Valdez D., Van Beber, Van
Winkle, Weissman, Will, Williams, Woog, Young
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Fenberg and Gardner, Bridges, Buckner, Coleman, Cooke, Danielson, Donovan, Fields,
Ginal, Gonzales, Hansen, Hinrichsen, Hisey, Holbert, Jaquez Lewis, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Lee,
Liston, Lundeen, Moreno, Pettersen, Rankin, Rodriguez, Scott, Simpson, Smallwood,
Sonnenberg, Story, Winter, Woodward, Zenzinger
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing statute.
Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. WHEREAS, Hitler used antisemitism as a political weapon to gain1
popular support, blaming Jews for all of Germany's problems, including2
the country's defeat in World War I, the economic depression, and the3
Bolshevik threat of communism; it made little difference that Hitler's4
accusations were blatantly contradictory and his so-called facts were5
fabricated; and6
WHEREAS, Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its7
collaborators murdered 6 million Jews (two out of every three Jews who8
lived throughout Europe), 1.5 million of whom were children, as well as9
5 million other civilians, including Sinti, Roma, people with intellectual10
or developmental disabilities, gay men, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet11
prisoners of war, and political dissidents; and12
WHEREAS, We recall that in the aftermath of war, Israel, a close13
ally and friend of the United States, became a refuge for many survivors14
who endured the ravages of the Holocaust and has remained a sanctuary15
for Jews worldwide seeking safety ever since; and16
WHEREAS, We gratefully acknowledge the more than 26,50017
non-Jews who, at great risk to themselves, saved Jews during the18
Holocaust from extermination and have been designated Righteous19
Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance20
Center; and21
WHEREAS, Today, as we mourn the loss of those who were killed22
and consider the terrible experiences of those who suffered and lived23
through the Holocaust, we note that antisemitic acts are not a thing of the24
past: According to the Anti-Defamation League, the number of reported25
antisemitic incidents in Colorado has reached a 40-year high, with 9226
incidents, which is a 53 percent increase from the 60 incidents reported27
in 2020; nationally, antisemitic incidents remain at a historically high28
level, with well over half of Jewish Americans experiencing or directly29
witnessing some form of antisemitic incident; and globally, there has also30
been an increase in antisemitic incidents, and some Jews feel more31
isolated and vulnerable as a result; and32
WHEREAS, We must also acknowledge that ethnic cleansing,33
genocide, terrorism, crimes against humanity, and wars on civilian34
populations are not relics of the past; and35
1020
-2- WHEREAS, Regretfully, the phrase "Never Again" has become1
"Yet Again", as we see today and in the recent past so much brutality in2
places like Myanmar, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Bosnia, Cambodia, Ukraine,3
Rwanda, the Central African Republic, Sudan, and South Sudan; and4
WHEREAS, Today, while we remember the Holocaust, we focus5
our attention on the passing of Holocaust survivors who provided6
firsthand accounts of the terrors they endured, leaving their children and7
grandchildren as the last generations to know the stories of the Holocaust8
directly from those who lived through it; and9
WHEREAS, While we are fortunate that several organizations in10
Colorado are dedicated to retelling the stories of the Holocaust and other11
genocides, it is not enough; far too many people, including most students,12
need more opportunities to learn about these atrocities so they are not13
repeated; and14
WHEREAS, It is our responsibility to bear witness to the truth of15
the horrors of the Holocaust, its many lessons, and to prevent hateful16
words from building up like the bricks that built Auschwitz; now,17
therefore,18
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-third19
General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein:20
That we, the members of the General Assembly:21
(1) Commemorate the Holocaust;22
(2) Promote anti-bias, bullying prevention, and Holocaust and23
genocide education programs in school districts and universities to24
prevent antisemitic incidents that target Jewish students as a result of their25
actual or perceived support of the state of Israel; and26
(3) Declare that the people of Colorado should understand the27
power of words, remember the great injustices of the past, and commit to28
preventing such atrocities in the future.29
Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent30
to the Jewish Community Relations Council of JEWISHcolorado; the31
Mountain States regional office of the Anti-Defamation League; the32
Coalition Against Global Genocide; the Holocaust Awareness Institute at33
1020
-3- the University of Denver's Center for Judaic Studies; the Interfaith1
Alliance of Colorado; the Mizel Museum; the Denver Parks and2
Recreation Department's Babi Yar Park; the Mountain States office of the3
Jewish National Fund; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in4
Washington, D.C.; and the University of Colorado Boulder Program in5
Jewish Studies.6
1020
-4-