[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 121 (Tuesday, October 3, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9746-S9750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG:
  S. 3155. A bill to authorize the President to award a gold medal on 
behalf of the Congress to Oskar Schindler and Varian Fry in recognition 
of their contributions to the Nation and humanity; to the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.


 honoring oskar schindler and varian fry with congressional gold medals

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I am pleased to submit a resolution 
honoring Oskar Schindler and Varian Fry, two individuals to whom 
approximately 3,200 individuals owe their lives and the world owes a 
tremendous debt of gratitude.
  The tragedy of the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of more than 13 
million people, will forever stand as a painful reminder of the frailty 
and value of human life. During this dark hour of history, two 
remarkable individuals among many other heroes, Oskar Schindler and 
Varian Fry, overcame difficult and dangerous circumstances and risked 
their lives to save their fellow human beings.
  The deeds of Oskar Schindler, a German factory owner immortalized by 
such authors as Thomas Keneally and film maker Steven Spielberg, have 
inspired millions of people around the world. During the Nazi 
occupation of Poland, Mr. Schindler put his life on the line and 
demonstrated that one person truly can make a world of difference. Mr. 
Schindler acquired an enamelware factory in Zablocie, on the outskirts 
of Krakow. The factory, which produced mess kits and field kitchenware 
for the Nazi army, was staffed by Jews drawn from the Krakow ghetto. 
When the Jews of Krakow were transferred to the Plaszow concentration 
camp, Schindler arranged for his workers to be housed at the factory. 
After the factory was disbanded and the workers sent to the camp, 
Schindler used his connections and personal fortune to secure their 
release and transfer.
  Through his cunning and perseverance in the face of adversity, Oskar 
Schindler succeeded in saving the lives of over 1,200 Jews. One of the 
individuals whom Schindler saved was Abraham Zuckerman, a constituent 
of mine and a great American in his own right. Mr. Zuckerman knows 
perhaps better than anyone else what a heroic individual Oskar 
Schindler was. As a builder, Mr. Zuckerman, along with other Schindler 
survivors, have honored Oskar Schindler with over 20 Schindler Courts, 
Terraces and Plazas throughout New Jersey.
  Oskar Schindler was named a ``Righteous Gentile'' by Yad Vashem, the 
Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Authority, on April 28, 1962. Today, over 
6,000 descendants of the Jews saved by Schindler live in the United 
States and Europe. I think it is high time that the United States 
government officially recognize Oskar Schindler's incredible 
contribution to humanity. Awarding him the Congressional Gold Medal is 
a fitting way to pay tribute to a man who touched the lives of so many 
people from all over the world.
  Another remarkable individual who overcame adversity and acted with 
extraordinary courage is Varian Fry, an American editor from New York. 
During World War II, Mr. Fry volunteered to travel to Nazi-occupied 
Marseilles, France, where he helped form the Emergency Rescue 
Committee. Working with a small group of associates, Mr. Fry offered 
assistance to Jews and antifascist refugees threatened with extradition 
to Nazi Germany under the ``Surrender on Demand'' clause of the Franco-
German Armistice.
  Varian Fry was instrumental in the rescue of approximately 2,000 
individuals, including artists Marc Chaggal, Andre Breton and Max 
Ernst. Mr. Fry was the first American to be awarded the ``Certificate 
of Honor'' and the ``Righteous among Nations'' medal by Yad Vashem in 
1996. The United States Holocaust Memorial Council honored Mr. Fry with 
its highest honor, the Eisenhower Liberation Medal in 1991. He has also 
been awarded France's top civilian honor, the ``Croix de Chevalier de 
la Legion d'Honneur.'' Yet sadly, Varian Fry's heroism and bravery have 
yet to be officially recognized by the American government.
  Mr. President, the Talmud states that, ``Whoever saves a single life 
saves the world entire.'' As we are left to wonder and mourn what the 
world has lost in the lives of those who perished during the Holocaust, 
we rejoice in the company and contributions of their survivors. We are 
enriched not only by the presence of the survivors, but by the example 
that Oskar Schindler and Varian Fry set for all of Humanity. Their 
actions are a testament to the ability of all people to act righteously 
and courageously even under the worst of circumstances.
  The heroic deeds of Oskar Schindler and Varian Fry are sterling 
examples of heroism and humanitarianism. It is time the United States 
government recognize and pay tribute to these men and the noble deeds 
they performed. Oskar Schindler and Varian Fry are highly deserving of 
the Congressional Gold Medal. I sincerely hope that the 106th Congress 
will take up and pass this resolution.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 3155

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) More than 13,000,000 people were killed during the 
     Holocaust, including Jews, Gypsies, Slavs (Poles, Ukrainians, 
     and Belorussians), homosexuals, and the disabled--each 
     exterminated because Adolf Hitler viewed them as ``subhuman'' 
     to the Aryan race.
       (2) Nazi persecution, arrests, and deportations were 
     directed against all Jewish families, as well as many others, 
     without concern for age. Innocent men, women, and children 
     faced starvation, illness, brutal labor, and other 
     indignities until they were consigned to the gas chambers.
       (3) When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, destruction began 
     immediately and in a merciless fashion. Jews were herded into 
     crowded ghettos, randomly beaten, humiliated, and 
     capriciously murdered. Jewish property and businesses were 
     summarily destroyed, or appropriated by the SS, and sold to 
     Nazi ``investors'', one of whom was Oskar Schindler.
       (4) Oskar Schindler set up a business in an old enamel 
     works factory in Poland. His workforce consisted of enslaved 
     Jews from the Krakow Ghetto. Schindler learned of the 
     horrible atrocities committed by Hitler's regime as he got to 
     know some of the forced workers there. In response, he 
     managed to convince the Nazis that his factory, and more 
     importantly, its trained workers, were vital to the German 
     war effort, thus preventing their deportation to death camps.
       (5) Oskar Schindler used all of the means at his disposal 
     to ensure the safety of those who worked in his factory. Even 
     his wife Emilie's jewels were sold, to buy food, clothes, and 
     medicine for the workers. A secret sanatorium was set up in 
     the factory

[[Page S9750]]

     with medical equipment purchased on the black market. There, 
     Emilie Schindler looked after the sick and wounded.
       (6) Even though Oskar Schindler had a large mansion placed 
     at his disposal close to the factory, he spent every night in 
     his office so that he could intervene should the Gestapo pay 
     a visit. He was detained by the Gestapo twice, but used his 
     connections to get released.
       (7) With his own life at stake, Schindler employed all his 
     powers of persuasion. He bribed, fought, and begged to save 
     Jewish men, women, and children from the gas chambers.
       (8) Oskar Shindler saved the lives of 1,200 Jews from 
     deportation to Nazi death camps.
       (9) On April 28, 1962, Oskar Schindler was named a 
     ``Righteous Gentile'' by Yad Vashem.
       (10) Varian Fry, together with a small group of unlikely 
     associates, succeeded in assisting nearly 2,000 artists, 
     musicians, writers, scholars, politicians, labor leaders, and 
     their families to leave hostile territories in France, either 
     legally or illegally. This effort came to be called the 
     ``Emergency Rescue Committee''.
       (11) Varian Fry offered aid and advice to Jews and 
     antifascist refugees who found themselves threatened with 
     extradition to Nazi Germany under Article 19 of the Franco-
     German Armistice--the ``Surrender on Demand clause''.
       (12) Though risking his personal security in the face of 
     both Gestapo and Vichy officials, Fry did what was necessary 
     to save as many of the refugees as possible.
       (13) Varian Fry aided in the rescue of nearly 2,000 
     individuals, including artists Marc Chaggall, Andre Breton, 
     and Max Ernst.
       (14) The United States Holocaust Memorial Council awarded 
     Varian Fry its highest honor, the Eisenhower Liberation Medal 
     in 1991.
       (15) In 1996, Yad Vashem posthumously honored Fry as the 
     first American ``Righteous Among the Nations'', and the 
     French government awarded him the Croix de Chevalier de la 
     Legion d'Honneur.
       (16) The actions of Oskar Schindler and Varian Fry serve as 
     testimony to all people that even under the worst of 
     circumstances, the most ordinary of us can act courageously.
       (17) Oskar Schindler and Varian Fry are true heroes and 
     humanitarians, deserving of honor by the United States 
     Government.

     SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized--
       (1) to award to Oskar Schindler, posthumously, on behalf of 
     Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design honoring Oskar 
     Schindler in recognition of his contributions to the Nation; 
     and
       (2) to award to Varian Fry, posthumously, on behalf of 
     Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design honoring Varian 
     Fry in recognition of his contributions to the Nation.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the awards 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') 
     shall strike gold medals with suitable emblems, devices, and 
     inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze, of 
     the gold medals struck pursuant to section 2, under such 
     regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, and at a price 
     sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, and the 
     cost of the gold medals.

     SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

       The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals 
     for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

     SEC. 5. FUNDING.

       (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of 
     the medals authorized by this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in 
     the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 ______