[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 129 (Wednesday, November 15, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S10963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORY OF SIGMUND STROCHILTZ

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, today I speak in memory of 
Sigmund Strochiltz, a truly remarkable man from New London, Connecticut 
who passed away on Monday October 16, at the age of 89. I was saddened 
to hear about Mr. Strochiltz's death, and I will keep his friends and 
family in my thoughts and prayers.
  Mr. Strochlitz was best known as the owner of Whaling City Ford, a 
successful car dealership that became a local institution in New 
London. Almost anyone who has lived in southeastern Connecticut can 
recall the television commercials for his dealership, in which Mr. 
Strochiltz would pleasantly invite the viewer to ``Come in. I would 
like to meet you,'' a simple slogan that reflected his pleasant 
demeanor and truly optimistic outlook on life. Those who knew him best 
say that he had a deep appreciation for the simple joys in life, like 
dining with friends or spending time with his grandchildren.
  Mr. Strochiltz's optimism is incredible considering the horrors he 
had to endure early in life. Mr. Strochiltz grew up in Poland, where he 
lived through both world wars. During the Second World War, he was held 
in a concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland, for over 15 months. 
During this truly horrible experience, Mr. Strochiltz was forced to 
watch as his parents, two sisters, his first wife, and countless others 
marched off to their deaths.
  Yet Mr. Strochiltz's spirit could not be broken, and he refused to 
give up hope that the people of all nations could live together in 
peace. After being released, he was determined to ensure that no one 
else ever had to suffer as he had.
  Mr. Strochiltz believed that if mankind was never allowed to forget 
the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime, such atrocities might 
never be repeated. He worked tirelessly toward this end. He served on 
the U.S. Memorial Holocaust Council, which worked to establish the 
National Holocaust Memorial and Museum. He served as chairman of the 
council's remembrance committee, where he lobbied the governments of 
every State and the District of Columbia to hold annual ceremonies to 
remember victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
  In addition to his great work with the council, Mr. Strochiltz helped 
elevate the writer Elie Wiesel, a close friend of his, to international 
fame. The two were partners in their mission to make sure the world 
never forgot the evils of the Holocaust. Together they traveled the 
globe, meeting with world leaders, such as German Chancellor Helmut 
Schmitt and Pope John Paul II. Mr. Strochiltz also lobbied Capitol Hill 
to have Mr. Wiesel nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize; he was 
successful, and Mr. Wiesel was deservedly awarded the prize.
  The passing of Sigmund Strochiltz is truly a loss for the people of 
Connecticut and throughout the world. May his kind nature and devotion 
to promoting peace and tolerance in the world live on in all those he 
has touched.

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