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ROUTINE 
R 051639Z APR 23 MID200080873418U 
FM SECNAV WASHINGTON DC 
TO ALNAV 
INFO SECNAV WASHINGTON DC 
CNO WASHINGTON DC 
CMC WASHINGTON DC 
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UNCLAS 
 
ALNAV 027/23 
 
MSGID/GENADMIN/SECNAV WASHINGTON DC/-/APR// 
 
SUBJ/DEPARTMENT OF NAVY 2023 HOLOCAUST DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE AND REMEMBRANCE 
DAY// 
 
RMKS/1.  The Department of the Navy stands the watch with the Nation in 
observing the Holocaust Days of Remembrance from April 16-23, 2023, with 
Holocaust Remembrance Day occurring on April 18, 2023.  The Holocaust was a 
systematic genocide, killing over six million Jews, and millions of others, 
from 1938-1945.  We honor its victims and survivors, who endured tragic and 
unthinkable circumstances at the hands of antisemitism.  This year's theme, 
"Home and Belonging," highlights the humanity of Holocaust victims and 
survivors who had their homes and sense of belonging torn from them by the 
perpetrators of the Holocaust. 
Benno Gerson's story is one of bravery and survival during the 
Holocaust.  Born in Germany in 1937, Gerson and his sister survived the 
Holocaust by taking refuge in the home of a Catholic widow, Marie Vandenberg 
Andries, who raised and protected them until the end of World War 
II.  Gerson's journey since brought him to America, where he graduated from 
the United States Naval Academy (USNA), became an officer in the United 
States Navy and went on to a successful civilian career.  Andries was 
recognized by the Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem as Righteous Among 
Nations and has her name on the wall of the Uriah P. Levy Center and Jewish 
Chapel at the USNA for the brave and selfless act of protecting Gerson and 
his sister. 
Despite the perils during World War II, 550,000 Jewish men and women served 
our nation with distinction.  Some were captured by the Germans and placed in 
concentration camps, 10,000 were killed in combat, and 36,000 received 
citations for valor.  All through the war, Jewish American warfighters 
maintained their resilience and courage, while many brave European citizens 
put their own lives in peril by hiding Jews in their homes.  We all must not 
allow an atrocity like the Holocaust to be repeated.  We must reject 
prejudice, hate speech, and antisemitism. 
Both Benno Gerson and Marie Andries have a home with us as part of our naval 
community.  Let us not forget that each of us is a crucial part of our 
culture of warfighting excellence - where everyone is treated with dignity 
and respect; where, no matter how far across the globe they may find 
themselves from their physical home, every Sailor, Marine and civilian knows 
they belong. 
 
2.  Released by the Honorable Carlos Del Toro Secretary of the Navy.// 
 
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