IL HR0006

Declares the week of January 27, 2021 as Holocaust Education Week in Illinois to commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945.

Encourages school districts and local residents to support the week and participate in informed educational events about the Holocaust.

Notes that a 2020 survey found 59% of Illinoisans did not know six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust and 54% could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto.

Cites rising hate crimes, including 953 anti-Jewish hate crimes reported in 2019 (a 14% increase from the previous year) and anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish college students on Illinois campuses.

Asserts that Holocaust education promotes understanding of prejudice and racism, encourages tolerance of diversity, and helps protect democratic values and prevent future genocides.