TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Governor Ron DeSantis announced he is directing U.S. and State flags to be lowered to half-staff on Wednesday, January 27, 2020, in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
January 27, 2021, marks the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration camp and extermination center.
Gov. DeSantis issued the following statement:
"In 2005, the United Nations designated January 27th as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. We honor the innocent lives lost, the families and friends of victims and the heroes who risked their lives for freedom during World War II.
I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the State of Florida from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday, January 27, 2021."
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators sought to dismantle democracy across Europe. Based on the bigoted belief that Germans were “racially superior,” the Nazi regime targeted several groups they perceived to be racially and biologically inferior.
The state-sponsored persecution resulted in the systematic murder of six million Jewish men, women and children. This dark hour of humanity known as the Holocaust left families broken and cast a dark shadow over our collective memory.
"The State of Florida does not tolerate anti-Semitism or discrimination against the Jewish people in any form. For this reason, on May 31, 2019, I proudly signed CS/CS/HB 74 into law. The Act, now codified in Florida statutes, prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion in Florida schools and specifically ensures that anti-Semitism is treated like the reprehensible practice of discrimination based on race."
For more information on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, click here.
