On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, New York State Assembly Member Aron Wieder took to the Assembly floor to deliver a deeply personal and powerful address, sharing his grandmother’s story of survival, loss, and extraordinary resilience in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Assembly Member Wieder spoke of his grandmother, a concentration camp survivor, and the heartbreaking ordeal her family endured. He recounted how her father—his great-grandfather—survived the horrors of the camps only to pass away just two weeks after liberation. Initially buried in a mass grave, he was denied the dignity of an individual Jewish burial. Driven by unwavering determination, Wieder’s grandmother fought to recover her father’s body and ensure he received a proper burial. She succeeded in bringing him to rest in Linz, Austria—a place far from the home and family life he had once known.
“Despite unimaginable loss,” Wieder told his colleagues, “my grandmother rebuilt her life with strength and resilience, while carrying memories that never truly faded.”
Wieder emphasized that remembering the Holocaust is not only an act of honoring the six million Jewish victims and millions of others murdered by the Nazi regime, but a vital lesson from history. “It began with words, with hatred, and—most dangerously—with silence,” he said. With the number of living survivors dwindling and antisemitism continuing to rise, he stressed that the responsibility to bear witness now falls to the current generation.
“We must be the witnesses,” Wieder declared. “We must share these stories clearly and without distortion. May we honor my grandparents—and all those we remember today—by standing firmly against hate and choosing humanity over indifference.”
Assembly Member Wieder’s speech resonated strongly in the chamber, serving as a poignant reminder of the enduring importance of Holocaust remembrance and the ongoing fight against antisemitism and all forms of hatred.
Thank you for standing strong in remembering the 6 million Jewish souls we. lost in the Holocaust. It started with words of hate , jealousy and the targeting of Jews. It led to mass slaughter and silence too. We are the children and grandchildren of survivors, who lost everything, but we’re determined to work hard, study and rebuild their lives. Their stories must be remembered. Their stories must be told, especially in classrooms and to our children and grandchildren. We must promise with one strong voice, NEVER AGAIN. Thank you for standing up and sharing your grandmother’s story. Your voice is important and all our voices will,hopefully, make a big difference. Let’s use our voices.
Yashir Koach!
I didn’t know that he can actually do something besides promising checks and buying off people
I’m sure your mother taught you , “if you have nothing nice to say, just keep quiet.”
Nothing positive is achieved with vile lashon hara