---
title: SR 42. International Holocaust Remembrance Day; recognize January 27, 2025
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sr42
cite_as: SR 42, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr42
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr42.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr42/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69510
date: 2025-01-29
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr41.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr43.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 94
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr42.md?full=1
bill_number: SR 42
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-01-29
last_action: Senate Read and Adopted
sponsors:
  - Kay Kirkpatrick
  - John Albers
  - Matt Brass
  - Timothy Bearden
  - Ben Watson
  - Jason Anavitarte
  - Ed Harbison
  - Russ Goodman
  - Sonya Halpern
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR42/2025
upstream_id: 1943363
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - Holocaust remembrance
  - Georgia Senate resolutions
  - state commemorations
  - Holocaust education
---

# SR 42. International Holocaust Remembrance Day; recognize January 27, 2025

## Text

Senate Resolution 42
By: Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Albers of the 56th, Brass of the 6th, Bearden of the
30th, Watson of the 1st and others
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing January 27, 2025, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day; and for other
purposes.
WHEREAS, the Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation
of European Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945, resulting
in the murder of six million Jews as well as the oppression and deaths of millions of others,
including Roma, people with disabilities, and Poles; and
WHEREAS, in 1998, HB 1664 was passed by the Georgia state legislature, establishing the
Georgia Commission on the Holocaust as a permanent state agency charged with creating
educational programs for Georgia citizens and operating as a secular, non-partisan entity; and
WHEREAS, the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust is tasked with preserving the
memory of the Holocaust, promoting public understanding of its history, and reminding
citizens to remain vigilant against hatred, racism, antisemitism, persecution, and genocide;
and
WHEREAS, January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, is
observed as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to memorialize the six million
Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution; and
WHEREAS, January 27, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz,
a critical time to honor the victims, survivors, and liberators while recognizing the lessons
of Holocaust history amidst an alarming global rise in antisemitism; and
WHEREAS, located in German-occupied Poland, Auschwitz consisted of three camps,
including Birkenau, a killing center where over a million victims were systematically
murdered by individuals and professionals involved in its operation; and
WHEREAS, trains carrying Jews from across Nazi-occupied and allied Europe regularly
arrived at Auschwitz, where its leadership and workers conducted these systematic killings
over nearly five years; and
WHEREAS, in mid-January 1945, as Soviet forces approached Auschwitz, SS units forcibly
evacuated nearly 60,000 prisoners on death marches under brutal winter conditions, resulting
in thousands of deaths from starvation, exposure, and violence; and
WHEREAS, on January 27, 1945, the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz, freeing the
remaining 7,000 prisoners, many of whom were sick and dying, and ending the camp's
operation; and
WHEREAS, we, the people of Georgia, join communities throughout the world in
commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day and honoring the victims,
survivors, and liberators of the Holocaust.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body
recognize January 27, 2025, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and the
press.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia Senate resolution recognizes January 27, 2025 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

### Plain-language summary

This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia Senate, not a change to state law. It formally recognizes January 27, 2025 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the Soviet army's 1945 liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in German-occupied Poland.
The resolution recounts the history of the Holocaust, the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz, and the death marches that preceded it, and references the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, a state agency created in 1998 to run Holocaust education programs. It directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies of the resolution available to the public and the press. It does not create any new program, funding, or legal requirement.

### What it does

- Formally recognizes January 27, 2025 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day in a Senate resolution.
- States the Georgia Senate's intent to honor the victims, survivors, and liberators of the Holocaust.
- References the existing Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, created by a 1998 law, without changing its duties or funding.
- Directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.

### Who it affects

This mainly affects the Georgia Senate itself as a symbolic statement. It also touches the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, whose educational mission is described, and the general public and press, who receive copies of the resolution.

### Why it matters

The resolution does not change any law, create funding, or impose requirements. Its practical effect is symbolic, giving official state recognition to Holocaust remembrance and signaling the Senate's stated commitment to opposing hatred, antisemitism, and genocide.

### Key provisions

- The resolution's whereas clauses summarize Holocaust history, including the 1945 death marches and the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz.
- It notes the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, established by HB 1664 in 1998, operates as a secular, non-partisan state agency for Holocaust education.
- The resolving clause has the Senate recognize January 27, 2025 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
- A further resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies available for public and press distribution.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2025-01-29)
- Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2025-01-29)
- Sponsors: Kay Kirkpatrick, John Albers, Matt Brass, Timothy Bearden, Ben Watson, Jason Anavitarte, Ed Harbison, Russ Goodman, Sonya Halpern
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69510

> The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr42.md?full=1