[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           LITHUANIAN RECOGNITION OF WAR CRIMES AGAINST JEWS

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                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, for the first time since the end of the 
Second World War, an important public statement has been made by a 
leading member of the government of Lithuania acknowledging crimes 
committed against Lithuanian Jews during the Nazi German occupation of 
that country.
  In a television appearance on September 22, Lithuanian Prime Minister 
Adolfas Slezevicius called on all Lithuanians to acknowledge the deaths 
of over 200,000 Lithuanian Jews at the hands of Nazis and to repent the 
involvement of Lithuanians in that criminal massacre.
  Prime Minister Slezevicius stated his hope for the forgiveness of the 
Jewish people for the suffering inflicted on the Lithuanian Jews in 
World War II. He also ordered that black crepe should be flown in 
mourning next to the Lithuanian flag at all official buildings on 
September 30th, the 51st anniversary of the Nazi-led liquidation of the 
Vilnius ghetto.
  Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Slezevicius stated that his government 
will assume responsibility for the prosecution of individuals who 
participated in the murders of Lithuanian Jews. I welcome those words 
and urge the Lithuanian government to do its very best to find those 
responsible and bring them to justice.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Mr. Slezevicius for his 
public statement. Hopefully, the recognition of and atonement for such 
atrocities will guarantee they never occur again. The horrors of World 
War II must never be forgotten, but such memorial efforts greatly 
enhance the long process of recovery.

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