[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        SENATE RESOLUTION 277--RELATIVE TO THE SCHINDLER PROJECT

  Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. 
Danforth, Mr. DeConcini, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Gramm, Mr. Harkin, Mr. 
Hollings, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Mathews, Ms. 
Moseley-Braun, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Packwood, Mr. Pressler, Mr. Shelby, 
Mr. Simon, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Wofford) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Labor and 
Human Resources:

                              S. Res. 277

       Whereas the Schindler Project is a nonprofit organization 
     founded by Marian Ungar Davis under the auspices of the 
     Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Greater 
     Pittsburgh;
       Whereas the Schindler Project has developed a national 
     program to provide every high school senior in the United 
     States with the opportunity to view the feature film, 
     ``Schindler's List'' and then to discuss their views with 
     Holocaust survivors;
       Whereas education is the foundation on which we form a 
     strong society;
       Whereas teaching future generations about the Holocaust and 
     its lessons for humanity serves as the best assurance that 
     such atrocities will be prevented in the future;
       Whereas the movie ``Schindler's List'' depicts the moral 
     catharsis of its central figure Oskar Schindler, from an 
     indifferent observer of the Holocaust to the savior of more 
     than 1,200 Jews; and
       Whereas the depiction of Oskar Schindler's actions show in 
     a very compelling way, the profound impact one person's 
     actions can have on the lives of others: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the feature film ``Schindler's List'' is an important 
     tool in educating high school seniors about the Holocaust; 
     and
       (2) the Senate supports the efforts of the Schindler 
     Project to provide students with the opportunity to view the 
     film and discuss its historical implications and the 
     application of those lessons to contemporary society.

  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I turn to the submission of the 
Schindler Project to educate high school seniors about the horrors of 
Nazism and the holocaust against Jewry, and to enable our youth to 
bring those lessons to bear on contemporary society.
  I offer this resolution on behalf of myself and 22 Senators: Senator 
Chafee, Senator Cohen, Senator Coverdell, Senator Danforth, Senator 
DeConcini, Senator Gorton, Senator Gramm, Senator Harkin, Senator 
Hollings, Senator Hutchison, Senator Kohl, Senator Lautenberg, Senator 
Mathews, Senator Mosely-Braun, Senator Murkowski, Senator Packwood, 
Senator Pressler, Senator Shelby, Senator Simon, Senator Stevens, 
Senator Wofford and Senator Warner.
  Madam President, the Schindler Project is a nonprofit organization 
founded by a very distinguished Pennsylvanian, Mrs. Marion Ungar Davis, 
who is in the Senate gallery today along with her father, Mr. Ungar, 
who traveled from Pittsburgh to be present at the introduction of this 
resolution.
  The Schindler Project has developed a national program to provide 
high school seniors with the opportunity to view the feature film 
``Schindler's List'' and then to discuss their views with Holocaust 
survivors.
  The regrettable fact of historical life, Madam President, is that 
although the Holocaust was an occurrence of recent origin during World 
War II, during my lifetime--I am not sure about the younger Presiding 
Officer, if it was during her lifetime as well--she nods in the 
affirmative--notwithstanding the horror of the mutilation and 
annihilation, murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazis, already there are 
historical revisionists who say it never happened.
  Already we are seeing a revival of antisemitism in Germany. We see it 
in Italy today. We see it across Europe. And regrettably we continue to 
see it in the United States.

  As a young man growing up, born in Wichita, KS, I saw it. I saw it in 
the small community of Russell, KS; 5,000 people. And I saw it even 
with greater intensity when I came to the University of Pennsylvania 
and became a Pennsylvanian, and lived in Philadelphia.
  One of the efforts which I have made personally, earlier referring to 
Reverend Halverson and our Wednesday morning prayer group, in 
discussing the issue with my colleagues, very few of whom are Jewish, 
is to talk about the subject of the Old Testament and the impact on 
young Jewish children of the New Testament talking about Jews being 
responsible for killing Christ. It was a revelation to some of my 
colleagues to know that on certain religious holidays there would be 
that consequence. But it is a fact of life. The problems of 
intolerance, the problems of discrimination, the problems of bigotry 
are issues that we have to face and we have to fight every day of our 
lives.
  When we look at prejudice we see it all around us, and I think it is 
indispensable that we confront prejudice. And when we find an event 
like the Holocaust, with the murder of 6 million Jews, an effort at 
genocide, it is something that we cannot forget. Steven Spielberg's 
movie, ``Schindler's List,'' has the artistic and theatrical direction 
to be a powerful implement to acquaint young men and young women of 
America about the nature of the issue.
  Madam President, I think my time has probably expired but I do not 
see my colleague, Senator Gramm, who has the remainder of the time so I 
ask unanimous consent I may be permitted to proceed for up to 5 more 
minutes. If Senator Gramm appears, I will abbreviate that time and 
yield the floor.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered. The Senator is recognized for an additional 5 minutes.
  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, this project on the display and showing 
of ``Schindler's List'' is one of enormous importance. There has 
already been an effort to show it to some 300,000 students in the 
United States, in some 23 States. Some more than $200,000 has been 
raised on its behalf. There is a distribution of a curriculum on how to 
teach the Holocaust. And the showing of the movie has been done in 
conjunction with having Holocaust survivors come to the school. So, I 
am pleased to offer this resolution on behalf of 22 U.S. Senators and 
myself. The resolution concludes with the resolved clause that;

       It is the sense of the Senate that the feature film 
     ``Schindlers List'' is an important tool in educating high 
     school seniors about the Holocaust and the Senate supports 
     the efforts of the Schindler Project to provide students with 
     the opportunity to view the film and discuss its historical 
     implications and the application of those lessons to 
     contemporary society.

  Mr. President, to reiterate, today I am submitting along with 22 of 
my colleagues a resolution acknowledging the efforts of the Schindler 
Project to educate high school seniors about the horrors of Nazism and 
the Holocaust against Jewry and to enable our youth to bring those 
lessons to bear upon contemporary society.
  The Schindler Project is a nonprofit organization based in 
Pittsburgh, PA, that was founded by Mrs. Marion Ungar Davis under the 
auspices of the Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of 
Greater Pittsburgh. This program offers high school seniors nationwide 
the opportunity to view the film ``Schindler's List'' and to discuss 
the film--the history it depicts and the lessons it teaches--with a 
Holocaust survivor.
  The horrors of the Holocaust are incontestable, and Steven 
Spielberg's award winning film ``Schindler's List'' has further etched 
those horrors upon our national conscience with great vividness and 
emotion. Now, thanks to the efforts of Marion Ungar Davis and the 
Schindler Project, out Nation's young people are being given the 
opportunity to learn more about a chapter of terror that preceded them, 
about the difference that one man, Oskar Schindler, was able to make in 
the midst of that terror, and about how we all might apply those 
lessons to our own lives today. If we are to avoid another Holocaust, 
we must educate our young people about the Holocaust of World War II, 
and the Schindler Project is taking a significant step in that 
direction.
  Marion Ungar Davis and the Schindler Project are surely worthy of our 
recognition, Mr. President, and I offer this resolution today as a 
means of doing so.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor 
of a resolution offered today by Senator Specter that acknowledges the 
enormous contribution of the Schindler Project to educating our 
Nation's children about the effects of prejudice and intolerance. This 
project is intended to help American students to understand the 
unimaginable horror and brutality of the Holocaust.
  The Schindler Project was begun by Marian Ungar Davis who, after 
seeing Steven Spielberg's Academy Award winning film ``Schindler's 
List,'' concluded that every teenager should have an opportunity to 
experience this extraordinary movie.
  She began by raising funds from her friends and neighbors to purchase 
tickets for high school seniors in her community of Allegheny County, 
PA. She was so successful that she expanded her goal to include all 
students graduating from high school in the United States. She has 
received cooperation from Mr. Spielberg and the film distribution 
company, as well as from a number of theater chains. To date, 200,000 
high school students from 23 States have participated in the project, 
and Ms. Ungar Davis has had inquiries from high schools in more than a 
dozen other States to express interest in participating in the 
Schindler Project.
  If just a handful of the students who view this film as a result of 
Ms. Ungar Davis's efforts realize that they have the ability, through 
courage and strength of character, to have a positive effect on the 
lives of others, the Schindler Project will be an enormous success. 
Similarly, if these students--who have grown up during a time in which 
we have seen a rise in intolerance and an increase in so-called hate 
crimes--come to a better understanding of the principles of equality 
and tolerance, then the Schindler Project will be of inestimable value.
  Oskar Schindler saved 1,100 Jews from death. Ms. Ungar Davis hopes to 
save our Nation's children from ignorance and prejudice.

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