[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 132 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND WORK OF SIMON WIESENTHAL

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. ALLYSON Y. SCHWARTZ

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 2005

  Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of H. Con. Res. 248, a resolution to honor the life and work of 
Simon Wiesenthal and reaffirm the commitment of Congress to fight 
against anti-Semitism and intolerance in all forms, in all forums, and 
in all nations.
  On September 20, 2005, the world lost a true hero--a voice for those 
souls who could not speak and a witness against those criminals who 
sought to go unnoticed.
  After surviving the Holocaust himself, Simon Wiesenthal devoted his 
life to seeking justice for the six million Jews who were 
systematically murdered at the hands of the Nazis, including 89 members 
of his family.
  Through sheer perseverance and determination, he hunted those who 
committed the most heinous acts--helping capture and ultimately convict 
more than 1,000 war criminals, including Adolf Eichman. He found the 
killers who ruined his youth, exterminated his people and displayed 
their evils before the eyes of the world.
  Simon Wiesenthal did not ask that the world never forget the 
Holocaust; he demanded it. And we, as leaders of the most powerful and 
just nation in the world, have an obligation to carry out Simon 
Wiesenthal's legacy.
  We must continue to investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of 
the Holocaust, as well as those who have engaged in acts of genocide in 
Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and the Sudan, to show the world that 
those guilty cannot hide in the shadows.
  We must work to end anti-Semitism and intolerance in the United 
States to prevent the spread of hatred that has led to so much undue 
evil.
  And we must educate our children about the Holocaust to ensure that 
future generations understand the evils that can befall humanity and 
appreciate the righteous figures who can emerge from it, like Simon 
Wiesenthal.

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