[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 140 (Wednesday, October 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S12198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE REMARKABLE SAGA OF SIGMUND NISSENBAUM

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I rise today to share with my 
colleagues the inspiring story of Sigmund Nissenbaum of Warsaw, Poland, 
which was brought to my attention by a group of distinguished American 
Rabbis--headed by Grand Rabbi Shmuel Teitelbaum and Rabbi Hertz Frankel 
of Brooklyn--who recently returned from Poland where they helped 
rededicate three historic Jewish cemeteries which had been almost 
completely destroyed by 50 years of neglect and vandalism.
  Sigmund Nissenbaum, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, has 
devoted his life to keeping alive and protecting the one-glorious 
Jewish heritage of Poland. For almost 1,000 years before 1939, Poland 
had the world's largest Jewish population. The vast majority of 
Poland's 3 million Jews were killed by the Nazis, and most of the 
survivors were driven into exile by the post-war Communist regime. 
During these trying days, Sigmund Nissenbaum--often almost 
singlehandedly--battled against overwhelming odds to protect Poland's 
Jewish cemeteries.
  The collapse of the Communist government in 1989 allowed Mr. 
Nissenbaum to solicit support for his endeavors from Jews residing in 
the United States and Israel, leading to the creation of the Nissenbaum 
Foundation. For the past 7 years, this foundation has institutionalized 
the life work of Sigmund Nissenbaum, erecting memorials to the victims 
of the Holocaust in several Polish cities and restoring over a dozen 
historic cemeteries.
  Rabbi Hertz Frankel reports that he has:

       . . . personally observed Mr. Nissenbaum gathering 
     skeletons from cemeteries which had been trampled by 
     hooligans. His compassion, care and conscience are an 
     inspiration to Jews throughout the world, and to Polish non-
     Jews as well. The current Polish government and Catholic 
     Church leaders have noted his historic role in helping to 
     restore a measure of dignity to the final resting place of so 
     many of his people.

  I know I speak for the entire Senate when I congratulate Sigmund 
Nissenbaum, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, and wish him 
many more years of success in his life's sacred work.

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