[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JOHN AND EFFIE WESTRA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRAD SHERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 4, 1997

  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me to rise today 
and pay tribute to John and Effie Westra, who are being honored by the 
Simon Wiesenthal Center as Righteous Gentiles for their heroic decision 
to harbor Jewish children during World War II. Through their sacrifice 
and dedication to their fellow man, both John and Effie Westra have 
provided models for all of us who seek to transcend differences of race 
and religion that all too often divide us.
  This story of courage begins in what for many of us is a dark and 
distant past amid the horrors of WWII. Thanks to John and Effie Westra, 
however, life and hope overcame those horrors which engulfed the world 
as they, like countless others, protected Jewish children from the 
Nazis.
  I could only imagine what thoughts went through John's and Effie's 
thoughts as they took in Alex Radziner--the threat of reprisal from the 
Nazis if they were caught hiding a Jewish child, the fear of facing an 
uncertain future amid a war-shattered Europe.
  However, despite the constant threat of being discovered, John and 
Effie Westra hid Alex for 2 long and difficult years. Their compassion 
reminds me of a saying. ``The brave man is not he who feels no fear, . 
. . But he, whose noble soul its fear subdues, And bravely dares the 
danger nature shrinks from.''
  It was due to the moral courage of John and Effie Westra that Alex 
Radziner survived the war. Today I join Alex Radziner's family to 
commend the Westras' courage and take honor in recognizing John and 
Effie.