[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 248 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 248

  Honoring the life and work of Simon Wiesenthal and reaffirming the 
     commitment of Congress to the fight against anti-Semitism and 
      intolerance in all forms, in all forums, and in all nations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2005

 Mr. Waxman (for himself, Mr. Lantos, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
 Crowley, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Honoring the life and work of Simon Wiesenthal and reaffirming the 
     commitment of Congress to the fight against anti-Semitism and 
      intolerance in all forms, in all forums, and in all nations.

Whereas Simon Wiesenthal, who was known as the ``conscience of the Holocaust'', 
        was born on December 31, 1908, in Buczacz, Austria-Hungary and died in 
        Vienna, Austria, on September 20, 2005, and he dedicated the last 60 
        years of his life to the pursuit of justice for the victims of the 
        Holocaust;
Whereas, during World War II, Simon Wiesenthal worked with the Polish 
        underground and was interned in 12 different concentration camps until 
        his liberation by the United States Army in 1945 from the Mauthausen 
        camp;
Whereas, after the war, Simon Wiesenthal worked for the War Crimes Section of 
        the United States Army gathering documentation to be used in prosecuting 
        the Nuremberg trials;
Whereas Simon Wiesenthal's investigative work and expansive research was 
        instrumental in the capture and conviction of more than 1,000 Nazi war 
        criminals, including Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Nazi plan to 
        annihilate European Jewry, and Karl Silberbauer, the Gestapo officer 
        responsible for the arrest and deportation of Anne Frank;
Whereas numerous honors and awards were bestowed upon Simon Wiesenthal, 
        including the Congressional Gold Medal, honorary British Knighthood, the 
        Dutch Freedom Medal, the French Legion of Honor, the World Tolerance 
        Award, and the Jerusalem Medal;
Whereas the Simon Wiesenthal Center was founded in 1977 to promote awareness of 
        anti-Semitism, monitor neo-Nazi and other extremist groups, and help 
        bring surviving Nazi war criminals to justice;
Whereas the Simon Wiesenthal Center is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, 
        and has additional offices in Buenos Aires, Jerusalem, New York, Miami, 
        Paris, and Toronto;
Whereas, in 1978, inspired in part by the work of Simon Wiesenthal, the Congress 
        enacted a law to deny citizenship and Federal benefits to former Nazi's, 
        and the Office of Special Investigations of the Department of Justice 
        has since conducted more than 1,500 investigations, won 79 cases, and 
        blocked the immigration of 170 individuals, and the work of the Office 
        continues;
Whereas the Simon Wiesenthal Center opened the Museum of Tolerance in Los 
        Angeles in 1993, which has received over 2 million visitors, including 
        thousands of students and teachers, law enforcement personnel, and other 
        professionals who participate in the acclaimed ``Tools For Tolerance'' 
        program, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center has since opened similar 
        museums and programs in Jerusalem and New York;
Whereas the Simon Wiesenthal Center made major contributions to the June 2005 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Conference on Anti-
        Semitism and on Other Forms of Intolerance that produced the Cordoba 
        Declaration, which condemned ``without reserve racism, xenophobia, anti-
        Semitism, and other forms of intolerance and discrimination'' and 
        declared ``that international developments or political issues, 
        including in Israel or elsewhere in the Middle East, never justify anti-
        Semitism'';
Whereas, in keeping with the efforts of Simon Wiesenthal, many governments have 
        responded to the growing tide of anti-Semitism worldwide, elected 
        leaders have spoken out against anti-Semitism, and law enforcement 
        officials and prosecutors have aggressively pursed the perpetrators of 
        anti-Semitic acts; and
Whereas Simon Wiesenthal's legacy teaches that the perpetrators of genocide 
        cannot and will not be allowed to hide from their crimes: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) honors the life and work of Simon Wiesenthal to 
        memorialize the victims of the Holocaust and to bring the 
        perpetrators of crimes against humanity to justice;
            (2) reaffirms its commitment to the fight against anti-
        Semitism and intolerance in all forms, in all forums, and in 
        all nations; and
            (3) urges all members of the international community to 
        facilitate the investigation and prosecution of surviving Nazi 
        war criminals and to continue documenting and collecting 
        information on Nazi war crimes for archival and historical 
        purposes.
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