[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. MICHAEL FRANZBLAU

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 12, 2002

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my friend, Dr. 
Michael Franzblau, for his many accomplishments. Chief among them is 
his pursuit of justice as manifested in his efforts to expose Nazi war 
criminals with particular emphasis on those in the medical profession. 
Dr. Franzblau's persistence in revealing the misdeeds of Dr. Hans 
Joachim Sewering of Bavaria demonstrates this dedication. Sewering is 
known to have murdered infants and children in a doctor-drive project 
``To Cleanse the Fatherland.'' A World War II veteran and an avowed 
enemy of perverted medical research, Dr. Franzblau successfully lobbied 
the AMA to back efforts to expose Sewering, leading to his resignation 
as President-elect of the World Medical Association. Michael Franzblau 
was also instrumental in developing legislation, H. Res. 557, that I 
sponsored, calling for an investigation into Sewering's war crimes; H. 
Res. 557 passed the House unanimously in 1998.
  Dr. Franzblau had a full medical practice in Marin (Dermatology) and 
was a retired Professor of Dermatology at the University of California 
School of Medicine in San Francisco. He has lectured there and 
elsewhere on the ethics of health care in the Nazi era. Married to 
Donna Garfield Franzblau for 47 years and the father of three now grown 
children, Dr. Michael Franzblau has found the time to dedicate himself 
to other medical causes locally, nationally, and abroad. These include 
service on California's Medical Quality Review Committee, American 
Medical Association, and Marin Medical Society; international 
humanitarian work for Project Hope in Peru, Alliance for Health in 
Mexico, and a fact finding mission to Ethiopia regarding medical care 
for 26,000 Ethiopian Jews; assisting in the establishment of the Marin 
Community Clinic; and authoring bills for the California State 
Legislature to regulate tanning facilities and to exclude physician 
participation in executions at San Quentin. The American Cancer Society 
awarded him for arranging free skin cancer screening clinics in Marin. 
Dr. Franzblau also served his community on the United Way and Terra 
Linda Community Services Board.
  Dr. Franzblau has devoted his considerable energy to Jewish causes. 
He served on the Anti-Defamation League, American Israel Public Affairs 
Committee, Jewish Community Federation Missions to Israel, Maimonedes 
Society (Marin and Sonoma), and the Marin Jewish Community Center. His 
passion and dedication have earned him a number of awards, including 
``The Truth and Justice Award'' of the Anti-Defamation league and the 
``Louis D. Brandeis Award'' of the Zionist Organization of America.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Franzblau is an exemplary citizen and a model of the 
Hippocratic ideal. His dedication to important causes of justice and 
humanity, reinforced by the persistent hard work required to accomplish 
his goals, have earned him the admiration and respect of his community. 
Dr. Franzblau has long been a university lecturer, but his most 
important lesson to us goes far beyond the classroom: The health of the 
individual and the health of society are integrally related, and both 
are the responsibility of the physician.

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