[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 83 (Thursday, May 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  HOLOCAUST ``RESCUERS IN ITALY'' DAY

                                 ______


                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 1995
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and commend 
all of those involved in the Holocaust Rescuers in Italy Day to be held 
at the Villa Walsh Academy in Morris Township on this coming Tuesday, 
May 23. This ceremony marks the extraordinary courage exhibited by 
ordinary people during the Second World War.
  During the autumn of 1943, Italian Jews were in imminent danger of 
being captured by Nazi troops. In order to try and save them from the 
horrible fate of the Nazi death camps, Pope Pius XII sent word that the 
Roman Catholic religious orders should provide sanctuary to persecuted 
Jews by welcoming them into their monasteries and convents. Eighty 
percent of Italy's Jewish population survived the Holocaust because of 
their efforts. This took countless individual acts of courage by 
Italian Catholics who risked a similar fate if discovered by Nazi storm 
troopers.
  ``A Debt to Honor,'' a documentary film narrated by New Jersey 
resident Alan Alda and produced by Documentaries International 
president Sy Rotter, shows how these acts of heroism occurred when 
individuals, faced with extraordinary fear and adversity, simply did 
what was right. This film is a welcome reminder of what we are all 
capable of as human beings and that heroism and moral courage are not 
forgotten character traits.
  Sister Margherita Marchione, a member of the Religious Teachers 
Filippini, one of the Catholic orders involved in helping the Jews of 
Rome, assisted Rotter in collecting the memories of Italy's Jewish 
survivors such as Carlo Sestieri. According to Sestieri, who was hidden 
in one of the Vatican buildings while his wife was provided sanctuary 
in a nearby convent:

       Thousands of Roman Jews would have been captured by Nazi 
     troops on October 16, 1943, had it not been for the prudent 
     politics of the Vatican. Without a doubt, it helped avoid 
     worse disasters.

  Sister Margherita has opened the doors of Villa Walsh to numerous 
Jewish and Italian organizations including the United Jewish Federation 
of Metrowest, the Italian Embassy, the Italian American Foundation, the 
Anti-Defamation League, Unico National, Order Sons of Italy in America, 
and the Temple B'nai Or of Morristown, who along with the National 
Endowment for the Humanities are sponsoring the event.
  I am proud to have ``A Debt of Honor,'' filmed in Italy with the help 
of the Italian State Broadcasting Network, debt in my congressional 
district. Holocaust Rescuers In Italy Day helps to remind each of us 
that there are things in life larger than ourselves, things worth 
sacrificing for--things worth being a hero for.


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