[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 54 (Tuesday, May 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E759-E760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ADDRESS OF THE HONORABLE MILES LERMAN AT THE NATIONAL CIVIC 
                COMMEMORATION OF THE DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 5, 1998

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, April 23, Members of Congress 
joined with representatives of the diplomatic corps, executive and 
judicial branch officials, and hundreds of Holocaust survivors and 
their families to commemorate the National Days of Remembrance in the 
rotunda of the United States Capitol. Miles Lerman, the respected 
Chairperson of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and one of 
America's most distinguished advocates for Holocaust remembrance, 
delivered a moving speech devoted to the theme of this year's ceremony, 
``Children of the Holocaust: Their Memories, Our Legacy.'' Mr. Lerman 
eloquently and emotionally described the tragic death of 1.5 million 
children at the hands of Hitler's storm troopers, and, by telling the 
story of one young victim, conveyed to the audience the extent of our 
society's void because of their loss.
  Miles Lerman has served as Chairperson of the United States Holocaust 
Memorial Council since 1993. A member of the Advisory Board of the 
President's Commission on the Holocaust, he was appointed to the first 
United States Holocaust Memorial Council in 1980 by President Carter. 
Prior to his appointment to lead the Council, Mr. Lerman directed its 
International Relations Committee and served as National Chairman of 
the Campaign to Remember. During the Holocaust, he fought as a partisan 
in the forests of southern Poland. He and his wife, Chris, a survivor 
of Auschwitz, rebuilt their lives in the United States; they have two 
children.
  Mr. Speaker, I insert Miles Lerman's thought-provoking address for 
the Record, and I implore my colleagues to read them and appreciate 
them.

Miles Lerman's Remarks, National Days of Remembrance, Capitol Rotunda--
                             April 23, 1998

       Distinguished Ambassadors, Honorable Members of Congress, 
     ladies and gentlemen.
       As the Honorable Ambassador, Eliahu Ben Elissar pointed out 
     to you, the State of Israel is celebrating its 50th 
     anniversary of independence.
       The United States Holocaust Memorial Council was pleased to 
     mark this occasion by including the flag of the Jewish 
     Brigade in the presentation of the flags of the American 
     liberating units.
       On behalf of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 
     I would like to extend our best wishes on this special 
     anniversary to the people of Israel and to the State of 
     Israel.
       It is our most fervent hope that the peace negotiations 
     between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority 
     will come to an understanding which will bring peace to this 
     troubled region.
       Happy anniversary and may your efforts for a permanent 
     peace agreement be crowned with full success.
       The theme of this year's National Days of Remembrance is 
     remembering the children and fulfilling their legacy.
       So let remembrance be our guide.
       One of the expert witnesses called to testify at the trial 
     proceedings of Adolf Eichman in Jerusalem was the world 
     renowned historian Professor Salo Baron.
       In his expert testimony, Professor Baron made the case not 
     only for the terrible losses that the Jewish people suffered 
     at the hands of the Nazis but he more specifically 
     underscored the great loss that humankind at large has 
     suffered for having been deprived of the potential talents 
     and brain power of the one and a half million children who 
     perished in the Holocaust.
       Professor Baron stressed a point that the world is much 
     poorer today because of these great losses.

[[Page E760]]

       He was bemoaning the losses of the future scientists and 
     scholars who did not get to research. He was bemoaning the 
     future composers who did not get to compose; the teachers who 
     did not grow up to teach; and the doctors who never go to 
     heal.
       One and a half million murdered children is such a 
     staggering number that it is most difficult to comprehend. 
     This is why I thought that perhaps singling out and 
     remembering the tragedy of one child would symbolize the 
     great loss of all the children who were annihilated by the 
     Nazis.
       So today let us remember Deborah Katz.
       In the Holocaust archives there is a letter written in 1943 
     by a Jewish girl by the name of Deborah Katz. She was nine 
     years old when she and her family were taken out of the 
     ghetto and loaded into cattle trains destined for the death 
     camp of Treblinka.
       Her parents managed to pry open a small window of the box 
     car and threw the child out hoping that a miracle would 
     happen and she would survive.
       A Catholic nun happened to pass by and found the injured 
     child. She brought her to the convent and hid her among the 
     sisters who gradually nursed Deborah back to health.
       The child was in comparative safety and she had a good 
     change to survive.
       One morning, however, the nuns woke up and found a letter 
     on Deborah's bed and this is what the nine year old child 
     wrote.
       ``It's bright daylight outside but there is darkness around 
     me. The sun is shining but there is no warmth coming from it. 
     I miss my mommy and daddy and my little brother, Moses, who 
     always played with me. I can't stand being without them any 
     longer and I want to go where they are.''
       The following morning Deborah Katz was put by the Gestapo 
     on the next trainload--destination--the gas chambers of 
     Treblinka.
       Today, I want to say to little Deborah, if you can hear me, 
     poor child, and I know that you can. I want you to know that 
     there is no more darkness, thank God. The sun is shining 
     again and warming little children like you. And what is most 
     important, dear child, I want you to know that you did not 
     die in vain. You have touched the hearts of many decent 
     people, far far away from the place where you lived and died.
       There is a museum in Washington where within the last five 
     years more than ten million visitors came to remember the 
     horrors of those dark days.
       You are not forgotten, little Deborah, and you will serve 
     as an inspiration to many children throughout the world to 
     make sure that in years to come, no child of any people, in 
     any country, should ever have to go through the agonies and 
     pains that you have suffered.

     

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