[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 9, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ELENA ANUZIS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. THADDEUS G. McCOTTER

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 9, 2005

  Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, last week, the State of Michigan and 
Detroit area community lost a member whose life was characterized by an 
altruistic commitment to her fellow human beings.
  As the youngest daughter of a mill owner and a loving mother, Elena 
Anuzis was born in Lithuania in 1920, where she grew up in a peaceful 
country home with three sisters and a brother. But shortly after she 
married Ceslovas Anuzis, their peaceful life together was ravaged by 
World War II and the Soviet Union's subsequent occupation of their 
nation. Fearful for their lives, Elena and Ceslovas fled their country 
and traveled to the United States, specifically to Michigan, where they 
settled in Detroit and raised their four children--Ausra, Gailute, 
Saulius and Andrius.
  Elena, along with her husband, is honored by the state of Israel as 
``Righteous Among the Nations,'' an honor bestowed to individuals who 
risked their lives to rescue Jews from the holocaust. Although their 
means were meager, they were willing to shelter Hasia Green-Gaslevitz, 
sent to them by a Catholic Nun from a nearby monastery. There is 
evidence the couple helped others. They rescued two Jewish girls from 
the Vilna Ghetto and found shelter for them at the home of a pharmacist 
in Lyda. They also provided false documentation for other Ghetto 
escapees.
  Mr. Speaker, every day Americans live extraordinary lives, and Elena 
Anuzis exemplifies their quiet courage and sublime virtue. She 
triumphed over momentous trials and tribulations and, despite 
witnessing the horrors of inhumanity, she never ceased espying, eyeing 
and elevating the best in everyone; and, in essence and act, generously 
giving of her heart and soul to her fellow human beings. Let us then 
all pause to honor Elena; and extend our deepest condolences to her 
loved ones.

                          ____________________