[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 113 (Thursday, September 21, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


THE LEON S. BENSON HOLOCAUST STUDIES COLLECTION AT THE SAN MATEO PUBLIC 
                                LIBRARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2000

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Leon S. 
Benson family and others who have made the contributions to the Leon S. 
Benson Holocaust Studies Collection of the San Mateo Public Library. 
The official dedication ceremony for this excellent collection will 
take place this Sunday, September 24, 2000, and I wanted to take a 
moment to share with my colleagues some information about this 
wonderful educational endeavor.
  Leon S. Benson, like myself, was a survivor of the Holocaust. After 
he passed away in January of last year, his family embarked on a fund-
raising drive to create a permanent Holocaust studies collection at the 
San Mateo Public Library that would honor his legacy. I am delighted 
that our library will have this collection of books and multimedia 
reference materials.
  Mr. Speaker, it is extremely important to have this type of research 
facility at the San Mateo Public Library. First and most importantly, 
it provides a resource for students of San Mateo and neighboring 
communities. As many of you are aware, California public schools 
require High School students to study the Holocaust, as well as the 
policies of Nazi Germany that led up to it. The Benson collection 
provides an excellent local resource which our students will put to 
good use when they to do research for their assignments.
  Second, the collection will be a valuable asset to all who visit the 
San Mateo Public Library. I would hope that the Leon S. Benson 
Holocaust collection is utilized, not just by students, but by others 
who need to know of this dark period in the history of mankind. Only 
through education and awareness can we confront anti-Semitism, racism, 
xenophobia and bigotry and work to eradicate them.
  One of the major problems facing Holocaust historians in this 
country, as well as the rest of the world, is the fact that people who 
lived through the atrocities, people like Mr. Benson, are passing on, 
and their first-hand knowledge of the Shoah passes with them. 
Preserving the history of that dark era of humanity is a critical 
necessity. Mr. Speaker, I can think of no better way to honor the 
legacy of a survivor of the Holocaust than in the manner which Leon 
Benson's family have chosen to honor him.

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