[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 45 (Thursday, April 21, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   TRIBUTE TO LEOPOLD ``POLDEK'' PAGE--A LIVING REMEMBRANCE TO OSKAR 
                               SCHINDLER

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 21, 1994

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, ``I am more than a survivor. I am a witness 
to the truth.'' These are the words uttered by Leopold Page upon 
recalling his experience in the Holocaust. I rise today to honor this 
man to whom each of us owes a lifetime of thanks. Leopold Page spent 
his life retelling the story of the man who saved his life and the 
lives of 1,200 others. Through Leopold Page's tireless effort and 
dedication to the task of remembrance, we have come to know the 
remarkable story of Oskar Schindler and the Schindler Jews. Leopold 
Page is a Schinglerjugen (``Schindler Jew'') and, through his singular 
commitment to preserve the story and never let any forget, his effort 
culminated in the making of the major motion picture, ``Schindler's 
List.''
  Leopold Page was born Poldek Pfefferberg on March 20, 1913, in 
Krakow, Poland. A 27-year-old professor at a Jewish high school in 
Krakow when the Nazis invaded Poland, Page joined the Polish Army to 
help defend his homeland. After fighting the Germans for 2 months he 
was wounded, captured, and shipped back to Krakow, where he met his 
wife to be, Ludmila, and they were married in the Krakow ghetto. They 
were then sent to Plaszow, a forced-labor camp outside Krakow. Like so 
many others, they were earmarked for certain death. It was there where 
they met Oskar Schindler and worked in his factory. They were 
designated essential workers and thus saved from certain death.
  In 1947, Leopold Page left Poland and made a parting promise to Oskar 
Schindler that his remarkable effort would never die for he would tell 
the story over and over so that the world would not forget what 
happened and how the efforts of one man saved the lives of over 1,200.

  Leopold Page immigrated to the United States of America and settled 
in Beverly Hills, CA, where he opened up a leather shop. There he told 
anyone who would listen the unbelievable story of Oskar Schindler. One 
day in 1980 someone listened. Acclaimed Australian writer Thomas 
Keneally walked in to buy a briefcase and spent the rest of the day 
transfixed as Leopold Page told his story. Keneally subsequently wrote 
the story and in 1982 published the international best seller, 
``Schindler's Ark.'' This book was the inspiration and basis for Steven 
Spielberg's 1993 film, ``Schindler's List,'' which won the Academy 
Award for Best Picture of 1993.
  Without Leopold Page's tireless commitment and a promise which he 
made, the story of Oskar Schindler would never have been told. As a 
result of Page's determination, millions of people have been educated, 
moved, and inspired by the story of the Schindler Jews and the lessons 
of the Holocaust. I commend Mr. Page in the strongest possible terms 
for taking on the task of remembrance and educating our younger 
generation about an episode in history that must never be forgotten. In 
the words of Rabbi Levertow: ``I, as a Rabbi should believe only in one 
God. But, I have to admit, for me there are two Gods; the second one is 
Oskar Schindler.'' Schindler, a Nazi, risked everything to save a 
people from the evils of his own government. He bribed Nazi officials 
and spent over 4 million Reichmarks to open a factory and purchase the 
lives of 1,200 Jews who came to work for him in his enamelware factory. 
``To save one life is to save the world.'' This is really the story of 
two men joined by chance. One who gambled his life to save others; the 
other who pledged never to let the world forget.
  Leopold Page, who now goes by his original name Poldek Pfefferberg, 
talks to us not merely as a survivor, but as a witness. He has 
fulfilled his pledge and ensured that the lessons of the Holocaust are 
never forgotten and for this we owe him an undying debt of gratitude. 
In his continuing effort to enlighten, Page helps to administer the 
Oskar Schindler Humanities Foundation, which honors examples of man's 
humanity to man. He is an inspiration to all who fight racial hatred. 
Leopold Poldek Page tells us ``hate is the biggest mental sickness 
which exists in humanity. There are never heroes, there is only 
destruction.'' Schindler would have agreed with him.

                          ____________________