[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 61 (Thursday, May 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S4917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 96--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
       A POSTAGE STAMP SHOULD BE ISSUED HONORING OSKAR SCHINDLER

  Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself and Mr. Specter) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs:

                            S. Con. Res. 96

       Whereas during the Nazi occupation of Poland, Oskar 
     Schindler personally risked his life and that of his wife to 
     provide food and medical care and saved the lives of over 
     1,000 Jews from death, many of whom later made their homes in 
     the United States;
       Whereas Oskar Schindler also rescued about 100 Jewish men 
     and women from the Golezow concentration camp, who lay 
     trapped and partly frozen in 2 sealed train cars stranded 
     near Brunnlitz;
       Whereas millions of Americans have been made aware of the 
     story of Schindler's bravery;
       Whereas on April 28, 1962, Oskar Schindler was named a 
     ``Righteous Gentile'' by Yad Vashem; and
       Whereas Oskar Schindler is a true hero and humanitarian 
     deserving of honor by the United States Government: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Postal 
     Service should issue a stamp honoring the life of Oskar 
     Schindler.

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today we celebrate the 50th 
Anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. As we do so, 
we also remember the tragedy of the Holocaust and the events that 
culminated in the creation of a Jewish homeland.
  I rise today to submit a measure to honor an individual who stands in 
the highest esteem of the citizens of Israel, and throughout the world. 
I am pleased to be joined by the senior senator from Pennsylvania, 
Senator Specter, in submitting this measure calling on the Postal 
Service to issue a stamp commemorating the life of Oskar Schindler.
  Millions of people around the world know the story of Oskar 
Schindler, whose heroism was brought to light by the author Thomas 
Keneally and the film maker Steven Spielberg. During the Nazi 
occupation of Poland, Oskar Schindler demonstrated that one person 
truly could make a difference. He saved the lives of over 1,200 Jewish 
men, women, and children, while risking his own life and that of his 
wife. Mr. Schindler also rescued approximately 100 Jewish men and women 
from the Golezow concentration camp, who were trapped in a sealed and 
freezing railroad car.
  Two of the individuals whose lives were saved by Oskar Schindler are 
residents of New Jersey. Before the war, Abraham Zuckerman lived in 
Krakow, Poland. In 1942, he was sent to the Plaszow concentration camp 
where he faced unspeakable horrors and certain death. While he waited 
out his days toiling in a coal yard, one day, to his great fortune, Mr. 
Zuckerman was told that he was one of the fortunate individuals whose 
name appeared on ``Schindler's List.'' Mr. Zuckerman was relatively 
safe for a little more than a year, but when Schindler's factory in 
Krakow was liquidated, he was sent to a concentration camp at 
Mauthausen and later Gusen II, where he was finally liberated. 
Meanwhile, Mr. Zuckerman's close friend Murray Pantirer was sent to 
another concentration camp, Gross-Rosen, after Plaszow was shut down. 
On his third day there, he was chosen as one of 900 workers for 
Schindler's new factory in Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia. Both men later 
emigrated to the United States. They have lived in New Jersey since 
shortly after the war where they started a home building business. To 
honor Mr. Schindler, these men are responsible for over 20 Schindler 
Courts, Terraces and Plazas all over the Garden State.
  Mr. President, we recognize that Mr. Schindler was a human being, not 
infallible like many heroes. But his bravery has truly made him stand 
out and worthy of honor. There is nothing I can say that could describe 
him any better than in the words of Mr. Zuckerman.
  ``I am one of the Survivors and I owe my life to the courage and 
strength of this great man. He was not a diplomat or a politician, he 
was a very good manipulator. He had the courage and the knowledge to 
save over 1200 Jews from death. He managed somehow to fool the Germans 
into thinking he was on their side when all along he was going behind 
their backs to save the Jews. His life was always in danger but still 
he persisted to do what he knew to be the right thing, he saved the 
Jews anyway he could. He bartered, he lied, he used his own money, he 
did everything humanly possible to save us. He was very unselfish as 
his life could have ended at any time but still he did all he could to 
save the Jews.''
  Mr. President, Senator Specter and I are submitting this resolution 
today to call on the Postal Service to issue a stamp commemorating the 
life of Oskar Schindler. Such a stamp would bring the story to millions 
of people. It would help us all understand that one individual can make 
a difference in the lives of others.
  We understand that we face somewhat of an uphill battle as Mr. 
Schindler is not a citizen of the United States. The Postal Service 
tells me that its policy is to issue stamps that depict American 
subjects. But we say in response that Mr. Schindler's life was largely 
devoted to the pursuit of freedom, to opposing tyranny, and to 
humanitarianism. These qualities certainly represent the American ideal 
and we believe that Mr. Schindler deserves the honor that the Postal 
Service has bestowed on other individuals who stood for these ideals. I 
am pleased to sponsor this important measure.

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