[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 102 (Thursday, July 17, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1449-E1450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 112 IN SUPPORT OF HOLOCAUST 
                       SURVIVORS ON JULY 9, 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 17, 1997

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention 
to the plight of Holocaust survivors around the world. More than 50 
years ago, we witnessed one of the most tragic episodes in the history 
of man's inhumanity to man--the slaughter of 6 million Jews and 
millions of others in Eastern and Central Europe during World War II. 
Some were able to hide or escape death, many with lingering memories 
and medical conditions that will be with them for life.
  There are currently more than 125,000 Holocaust survivors living in 
the United States and approximately 500,000 living around the world. It 
is these survivors who in many cases are still struggling to live out 
their remaining years with dignity. Many of them live in my district 
and have contacted me for help after being denied assistance from the 
current reparations' system set up to help Holocaust survivors.
  Let me tell you about one of my constituents, a Holocaust survivor 
currently living in New York City. Dr. Hadassah Bimko Rosensaft 
survived concentration camps at both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. While 
interned, she contracted malaria and hepatitis. Unfortunately, because 
these diseases were not treated at the time, Dr. Rosensaft now suffers 
from severe cirrhosis of the liver. Although several medical experts 
support her claim that the condition stems from her imprisonment in 
Nazi Germany, the German Government says she cannot sufficiently prove 
that her condition is a direct consequence.
  Dr. Rosensaft is fortunate to be able to afford her needed medical 
care with the help of her family. But her story is somewhat unique. 
Many other victims of Nazi horrors have been deemed wholly ineligible 
for reparations, and cannot rely on their families to help support 
them. These include, people who were in forced-labor camps; people who 
were confined to areas not recognized by Germany as ghettos; people who 
hid under false names; and people who were in a concentration camp for 
fewer than 6 months. In fact, even if someone was interned in two 
separate camps for 3 and 4 months each, that person may not qualify. In 
many cases, it is impossible for Holocaust survivors to prove the 
circumstances under which they acted during the Holocaust. I believe it 
is unjust to ask elderly people--with permanent injuries, who suffered 
enormous emotional trauma--to document their life half a century ago.
  Many Holocaust survivors who were fortunate enough to avoid death 
camps during World War II were forced into hiding. A second 
reparations' provision states that if you were forced into hiding, you 
are eligible for reparations only if you hid for 18 months, and only if 
you can document and support your claim.
  Learning about these onerous restrictions and the ongoing denial of 
Holocaust survivors' claims led me to introduce legislation in the 
104th Congress calling on the German Government to expand and simplify 
its reparations' system. I am encouraged by recent reports by the World 
Jewish Congress that the German Government has announced its 
willingness to reopen negotiations. This is a very encouraging step in 
the fight for justice for Holocaust survivors. But it is only a 
beginning.
  I am also concerned about the so-called double victims, who are now 
living in the former Communist States of Eastern and Central Europe. 
For years as the reparations' system was developed, these double 
victims did not have access to the system, and have been victimized 
twice by being denied access to reparations' today. Many of these 
people were in hiding. Many used false names to escape from the Nazis. 
Today, in order to qualify for reparations under the current system, 
survivors must provide proof of what they did and how they escaped. 
Many are still living in this part of the world and many are suffering 
from severe medical ailments. Although some have received a token 
amount of reparations, tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors in 
Eastern and Central Europe have never received any reparations.
  I am pleased to introduce House Concurrent Resolution 112, a 
resolution calling on the German Government to expand and simplify its 
reparations system, provide reparations to Holocaust survivors in 
Eastern and Central Europe, and set up a fund to help cover the medical 
expenses of Holocaust survivors. I am pleased to introduce this 
resolution with the support of International Relations Committee 
Chairman Benjamin Gilman and committee

[[Page E1450]]

members Robert Wexler of Florida, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, and 
Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut, along with Congressman Martin Frost of 
Texas.
  To add insult to injury, recent news reports have uncovered that 
former members of the Nazi army, including non-German members of the 
SS, often receive far more generous pensions than do the victims they 
persecuted. Some of the people who receive German veteran pensions are 
known killers or were personally responsible in acts of genocide. 
Meanwhile, Holocaust survivors, many of whom are unable to afford the 
medical care they desperately need, must battle onerous restrictions 
and regulations in order to receive their meager benefits.
  One example is the case of Wolfgang Lehnigk-Emden. This former Nazi 
guard murdered 15 women and children in Italy in 1943. Because he was 
later shot in the leg and suffers a mild disability, he now receives a 
generous pension--a pension three times what is given to Holocaust 
survivors--because he is considered a war victim. This is but one 
example of Germany's hypocrisy. Another example is the story of former 
SS Guard Wilhelm Mohnke.
  According to the Department of Justice, Mr. Mohnke was personally 
involved in the massacre of 72 American POW's in 1944. Due to injuries 
he later sustained, the German Government gives Wilhelm Mohnke a war 
victim's pension equivalent to $560 per month.
  Many people have been instrumental in the fight for justice for all 
Holocaust survivors around the world. Menachem Rosensaft, Founding 
Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust 
Survivors and its president Rositta Ehrlich Kenigsberg have worked 
tirelessly on their crusade for survivors' rights. Benjamin Meed, 
president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors has 
also worked tirelessly on behalf of Holocaust survivors worldwide. I am 
forever indebted to each of them for their hard work.
  Mr. Speaker, Holocaust survivors are an aging, finite population, who 
are not asking for much. I believe that these survivors deserve 
sufficient reparations to ensure that no Holocaust survivors are forced 
to live in conditions worse than those generally enjoyed by the 
surviving former Nazis who persecuted them.

 Text of House Concurrent Resolution 112, Introduced by Representative 
                           Carolyn B. Maloney

       A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the 
     Congress that the German Government should expand and 
     simplify its reparations system, provide reparations to 
     Holocaust survivors in Eastern and Central Europe, and set up 
     a fund to help cover the medical expenses of Holocaust 
     survivors
       Whereas the annihilation of six million European Jews 
     during the Holocaust and the murder of millions of others by 
     the Nazi German state constituted one of the most tragic 
     episodes in the history of man's inhumanity to man;
       Whereas there are more than 125,000 Holocaust survivors 
     living in the United States and approximately 500,000 living 
     around the world;
       Whereas aging Holocaust survivors throughout the world are 
     still suffering from permanent injuries suffered at the hands 
     of the Nazis and many are unable to afford critically needed 
     medical care;
       Whereas while the German government has attempted to 
     address the needs of Holocaust survivors, many are excluded 
     from reparations because of the onerous eligibility 
     requirements imposed by the German government;
       Whereas the German government routinely rejects survivors' 
     claims on the ground that the survivor did not present the 
     claim correctly or in a timely fashion, that the survivor 
     cannot demonstrate to the Government's satisfaction that a 
     particular illness or medical condition is the direct 
     consequence of persecution in a Nazi-created ghetto or 
     concentration camp, or that the German authorities do not 
     consider the survivor is not considered sufficiently 
     destitute;
       Whereas tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors in the 
     former Soviet Union and other formerly Communist countries in 
     Eastern and Central Europe have never received reparations 
     from Germany and a smaller number has received a token 
     amount;
       Whereas after more than 50 years, hundreds of thousands of 
     Holocaust survivors continue to be denied justice and 
     compensation from the German government;
       Whereas the German government is paying generous disability 
     pensions to veterans of the Nazi armed forces, including non-
     German veterans of the Waffen-SS.
       Whereas in 1996, the German government paid $7.7 billion in 
     such pensions to 1.1 million veterans, including 3,000 
     veterans and their dependents now living in the United 
     States;
       Whereas such pensions are a veteran's benefit provided over 
     and above the full health coverage that all German citizens, 
     including veterans of the Waffen-SS, receive from their 
     government; and
       Whereas it is abhorrent that Holocaust survivors should 
     live out their remaining years in conditions worse than those 
     enjoyed by the surviving former Nazis who persecuted them;
       Therefore be it resolved that it is the sense of the 
     Congress that:
       The German government should expand and simplify its system 
     of reparations so that all survivors of the Holocaust can 
     receive reparations, regardless of their nationality, length 
     or place of internment, or their current financial situation;
       The German government should provide reparations to 
     Holocaust survivors in the former Soviet Union and other 
     former Communist countries in Eastern and Central Europe;
       The German government should fulfill its responsibilities 
     to victims of the Holocaust and immediately set up a 
     comprehensive medical fund to cover medical expenses of 
     Holocaust survivors worldwide; and
       The German government should help restore the dignity of 
     Holocaust survivors by paying them sufficient reparations to 
     ensure that no Holocaust survivor be forced by poverty to 
     live in conditions worse than those enjoyed by the surviving 
     former Nazis who persecuted them.

     

                          ____________________