[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 161 (Wednesday, October 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF HUGO PRINCZ

                                 ______


                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 18, 1995

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a special man who 
lives in my district in Highland Park, New Jersey: Mr. Hugo Princz.
  Hugo is one of a few American survivors of the Holocaust in Nazi 
Germany. His family was American, living in Slovakia in 1942 when all 
were arrested by the Nazis. The SS refused to release the Princz 
family, which should have been done as part of the Red Cross civilian 
prisoner exchange, instead the family was interned because it was 
Jewish.
  Hugo's mother, father, and sister were sent to Treblinka death camp 
and gassed on arrival. He and his brothers were sent to Auschwitz, and 
worked as slave laborers. Mr. Princz's job was to stack dead bodies for 
incineration. While in Auschwitz, Hugo's two brothers were killed. By 
the war's end, Hugo was in Dachau and selected for extermination. He 
was fortunately saved by the U.S. Army when our soldiers boarded a 
train carrying Hugo and other prisoners and saw U.S.A. embroidered on 
his jersey.
  After the war, Mr. Princz began what would turn out to be a 50-year 
struggle with the German Government for reparations--a fight in honor 
of his family and all of the people who were tortured by the Nazis. In 
1955, Germany rejected Mr. Princz's application for its reparations 
program because his U.S. citizenship made him ineligible under German 
law. Hugo's struggle continued without success for decades. German 
legislators refused to accept responsibility for the actions of the 
Nazis and recognize Mr. Princz and his struggle for survival.
  Hugo looked to Congress to assist him in his struggle. What he 
brought to me and the many Members of Congress who supported him was a 
just and righteous cause. Hugo's lawyers, William Marks from the firm 
of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy, and Steven Perles should be 
commended for their work on Hugo's behalf. They worked feverishly with 
Members of Congress, for little reward, to assist Hugo in his efforts. 
Finally, on September 19, 1995, the roller coaster ride of Hugo's 
struggle came to a successful conclusion. The German Government 
recognized his struggle and provided him with the reparations he was 
owed.
  Mr. Speaker, Hugo Princz is an inspiration to everyone who knows him 
or has heard him tell his story. He managed to overcome the worst 
nightmare humanity has ever created. Yet his strength and determination 
in the face of such strong adversity will remain in the hearts and 
minds of all who know him, and that will be his legacy.

                          ____________________