Congressional Record, Volume 154 Issue 41 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)

[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1459-H1462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

EXPRESSING GRATITUDE TO MEMBER STATES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION
OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRACING SERVICE

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 854) expressing gratitude to all of the member
states of the International Commission of the International Tracing
Service (ITS) on ratifying the May 2006 Agreement to amend the 1955
Bonn Accords granting open access to vast Holocaust and other World War
II related archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:

H. Res. 854

Whereas for the past 62 years, until their ultimate release
on November 28, 2007, the International Tracing Service
(``ITS'') archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany remained
the largest closed Holocaust-era archives in the world;
Whereas while Holocaust survivors and their descendants
have had limited access to individual records at Bad Arolsen,
reports suggest that they faced long delays, incomplete
information, and even unresponsiveness;
Whereas until the archives' recent release, the materials
remained inaccessible to researchers and research
institutions;
Whereas the 1955 Bonn Accords established an International
Commission of 11 member countries (Belgium, France, Germany,
Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland,
the United Kingdom, the United States) responsible for
overseeing the administration of the ITS Holocaust archives
which contain 17,500,000 individual names and 50,000,000
documents;
Whereas the new International Committee of the Red Cross
(``ICRC'') and the Director of the ITS, who is an ICRC
employee, oversee the daily operations of the ITS and report
to the Commission at its annual meetings;
Whereas the new ICRC leadership at the ITS should be
commended for their commitment to providing expedited and
comprehensive responses to Holocaust survivor requests for
information, and for their efforts to complete the
digitization of all archives as soon as possible;
Whereas since the inception of the ITS, the German
government has financed its operations;
Whereas beginning in the late 1990s, the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum (``Holocaust Museum''), Holocaust survivor
organizations, and others began exerting pressure on
International Commission members to allow unfettered access
to the ITS archives;
Whereas following years of delay, in May 2006 in Luxemburg,
the International Commission of the ITS agreed upon
amendments to the Bonn Accords which would grant researchers
access to the archives and would allow each Commission member
country to receive a digitized copy of the archives and make
the copy available to researchers under their own country's
respective archival and privacy laws and practices;
Whereas the first 3 Commission member countries to ratify
the amendments to the Bonn Accords were the United States,
Israel, and Poland, all 3 home to hundreds of thousands of
survivors of Nazi brutality;
Whereas the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has
worked to ensure the timely release of the Bad Arolsen
archives to survivors, researchers, and the public;
Whereas the United States Department of State engaged in
diplomatic efforts with other Commission member countries to
provide open access to the archives;
Whereas the United States House of Representatives
unanimously passed H. Res. 240 on April 25, 2007 and the
United States Senate passed S. Res. 141 on May 1, 2007,
urging all member countries of the International Commission
of the ITS who have yet to ratify the May 2006 Amendments to
the 1955 Bonn Accords Treaty, to expedite the ratification
process to allow for open access to the Holocaust archives
located at Bad Arolsen, Germany;
Whereas on May 15, 2007, the International Commission voted
in favor of a United States proposal to allow a transfer of a
digital copy of archived materials to any of the 11 member
States that have adopted the May 2006 amendments to the Bonn
Accords; thereafter, transfer of materials to both the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem, the
Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in
Israel, was initiated;
Whereas while it is not possible to provide meaningful
compensation to Holocaust survivors for the pain, suffering
and loss of life they have experienced, it is a moral and
justifiable imperative for Holocaust survivors and their
families to be offered expedited open access to these
archives;
Whereas with respect to the release of the materials, time
is of the essence in order for Holocaust researchers to
access the archives while Holocaust survivor eyewitnesses to
the horrific atrocities of Nazi Germany are still alive;
Whereas opening the historic record is a vital contribution
to the world's collective memory and understanding of the
Holocaust and to ensure that unchecked anti-Semitism and
complete disrespect for the value of human life, including
the crimes committed against non-Jewish victims which made
such horrors possible, is never again permitted to take hold;
Whereas despite overwhelming international recognition of
the unconscionable horrors of the Holocaust and its
devastating impact on World Jewry, there has been a sharp
increase in global anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in
recent years; and
Whereas it is critical that the international community
continue to heed the lessons of the Holocaust, one of the
darkest periods in the history of humankind, and take
immediate and decisive measures to combat the scourge of
anti-Semitism: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses its appreciation to all countries that
ratified the amendments to the Bonn Accords allowing for open
access to the Holocaust Archives located in Bad Arolsen,
Germany;
(2) congratulates the dedication, commitment, and
collaborative efforts of the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum, the Department of State, and the International
Committee of the Red Cross to open the archives;
(3) encourages the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
and the International Committee of the Red Cross to act with
all possible urgency to create appropriate conditions to
ensure survivors, their families, and researchers have direct
access to the archives, and are offered effective assistance
in navigating and interpreting these archives;
(4) remembers and pays tribute to the murder of 6,000,000
innocent Jews and more than 5,000,000 other innocent victims
during the Holocaust committed by Nazi perpetrators and their
collaborators; and
(5) must remain vigilant in combating global anti-Semitism,
intolerance, and bigotry.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Tauscher). Pursuant to the rule, the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) and the gentleman from Illinois
(Mr. Manzullo) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.

General Leave

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to support this resolution which
recognizes the long overdue ratification of an international agreement
that will open access to records of the Holocaust and Nazi war crimes.
And I would like to commend my good friend and distinguished colleague,
Alcee Hastings of Florida, for introducing this measure before us
today.
On January 27, designated by the United Nations as the International
Holocaust Remembrance Day, the world paused to honor the victims of
this terrible crime and to vow never again to allow such atrocities to
happen.
For many victims and relatives of the Holocaust, 2008 may provide the
first opportunity to obtain access to information about their own
treatment as well as the fate of their loved ones in Nazi death camps.
In 1955, 11 member countries signed the Bonn Accords to establish an
International Commission responsible for overseeing the administration
by the

[[Page H1460]]

International Tracing Service of Holocaust archives.
The service is based in Bad Arolsen, Germany, and is directed by the
International Committee of the Red Cross.

{time} 1400

Madam Speaker, the archive holds over 85,000 feet of records, listing
victims' names, transport details, medical records, and in some cases
the only history of those who died at the hands of the Nazis. The
records contain over 50 million reference cards for over 17.5 million
people.
For over 60 years, ITS has limited access to its records to survivors
of Nazi crimes and their descendants. Aging Holocaust survivors have
criticized ITS for delayed responses or a complete failure to provide
them with any information. By 2006 ITS had recorded a backlog of over
400,000 requests.
Following years of delay, the 11 parties to the Bonn Accords Treaty
signed amendments in May 2006 to ensure the records were fully opened
to survivors as well as researchers. This process was to be enhanced by
the distribution of digitized records to member countries.
While the United States, Israel, Poland, and the Netherlands were the
first signatories to ratify the amendments, Holocaust survivors were
forced to wait still longer until the remaining countries completed
their ratification procedures. In April 2007, this House passed H. Res.
240 calling on the remaining seven countries to ratify the amendments
by the May 2007 deadline.
The resolution before us today expresses appreciation to all member
countries for having ratified the amendments, allowing survivors the
opportunity to find peace in the material contained in these archives.
The resolution highlights the key roles played by the United States
Holocaust Museum, the Department of State, and the International
Community of the Red Cross in achieving this outcome. And it calls on
the Holocaust Museum and the Red Cross to create the necessary
conditions by which survivors and their families can promptly obtain
long-sought-after information regarding Holocaust-era atrocities. While
the ratification of these amendments is tragically too late for many
victims, the hope is that it provides answers for many others.
I support this resolution, Madam Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to
do the same.
With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise today in support of H. Res. 854 on the opening of Bad Arolsen
Holocaust archives. I would like to thank the author of this
resolution, Congressman Hastings, as well as Ranking Member Ros-
Lehtinen, Congressman Wexler, and Congressman Kirk, who have fought for
opening access to the Holocaust archives in Bad Arolsen, Germany.
The archives there have been the largest closed Holocaust-era
collection of documents in the world, containing millions of records
about the fates of over 17 million victims of Nazi Germany. The archive
became open to the public in November of last year after 11 countries
of its governing body ratified the agreement that allowed the
collection to become open and for those documents to be transferred to
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem in Israel.
Open access to these records will provide many Holocaust survivors
and their families with the information about their loved ones.
Additionally, it will present researchers and scholars with materials
necessary to enhance the public knowledge about the Holocaust.
Now that the archive is open and the U.S. Holocaust Museum is able to
answer requests, it is very important that the survivors and their
family members are aware of these services and are able to immediately
submit requests for information about their loved ones.
In conclusion, I urge Members from both sides of the aisle to support
H. Res. 854.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, at this time I wish to yield 5 minutes to
my good friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I thank my very good friend and cosponsor of
this resolution, Representative Crowley, for the time.
Madam Speaker, this resolution on the floor is the culmination of
longstanding efforts I have made with Representative Wexler, who is
chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe; Representative Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee;
Representative Mark Kirk; and many others to open the largest closed
Holocaust-era archive in the world and release critical Holocaust
records.
As I stand today in support of a resolution making this significant
event in Holocaust history, I cannot help but reflect on the
longstanding life and career of a true champion of human rights and
Holocaust issues, the former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee and the first and only Holocaust survivor Member of Congress,
Representative Tom Lantos.
These archives will forever contribute to the world's collective
memory of the Holocaust atrocities experienced and the immense bravery
exhibited by Representative Lantos and his wife and other survivors who
are no longer with us today.
The opening of the Bad Arolsen archives will enable Holocaust
survivors, their descendants, and future generations of researchers and
the public access to some 50 million records on the fates of 17.5
million individual victims of Nazi brutality.
In our world today, filled with growing international intolerance,
including anti-Semitism, hate, racial bigotry, xenophobia, and
religious discrimination, it could not be more critical for us to
ensure unfettered access to these Holocaust archives. The ultimate
release of these documents serves to further delegitimize world leaders
and other extremist factions who spew anti-Semitic propaganda and
downplay or deny the significance of the Holocaust.
I am thankful for the collaborative efforts and leadership shown by
the Holocaust Memorial Museum, new leadership of the International
Committee of the Red Cross at the International Tracing Service, the
State Department, survivor groups, and this body of Congress to
pressure the member states of the ITS to throw open the doors of these
archives.
Our success sends a robust message to the world that the horrors of
the Holocaust shall forever remain at the forefront of our collective
and individual memories. The ultimate release of these archives proves
that the world recognizes the moral importance of combating the scourge
of modern-day anti-Semitism.
May we never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust. May this
historic event serve as a constant reminder to the world of what
happens when humanity is silenced and evil permitted to wage war on the
innocent.
Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. CROWLEY. I want to thank the gentleman, the sponsor from Florida
of this legislation, Mr. Hastings, for his comments.
Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to
the gentlewoman from Las Vegas, Nevada (Ms. Berkley).
Ms. BERKLEY. I want to return the compliment to the gentleman from
New York. This is an issue that has been in the forefront of his mind
and actions since he came to Congress. And I thank the sponsor of the
legislation, Mr. Hastings, for bringing it to us today.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution and in the
hope that this archive will help the world remember the crimes
committed in the Holocaust and ease the pain of those families who lost
loved ones in the Holocaust but to this day have no idea what happened
to their families and their family members.
We, unfortunately, find ourselves in an age where the absurdity of
the Holocaust denial is on the rise, when the leader of Iran seeks to
recreate Hitler's acts, and when anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are
finding fertile ground all over the Internet.
At the meeting of the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue last
October in Las Vegas, Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-
Defamation League, laid out for us the troubling resurgence of global
anti-Semitism, not only in Europe and in the Middle

[[Page H1461]]

East but even here at home. Conspiracy theories flourish, claiming Jews
control the media and the banking industry and Jewish lobbies have too
much power, the same old canards that have existed for all too long.
Mr. Foxman reminded us that these words and theories, often serious
anti-Semitism disguised as ``anti-Zionism,'' are too often used by
terrorists and hate groups to justify their actions.
I'm sorry to say in a newspaper article in the Rebel Yell at my alma
mater, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, just this week there was a
horrible anti-Semitic and anti-Israel screed written by a misinformed
student that has created shock waves across the Las Vegas community.
As chairman of the Transatlantic Dialogue, I believe that I speak for
all TLD members when I say how grateful we are to our friends across
the Atlantic who have worked so hard to open these archives.
It is my hope, as this resolution states, opening the historic record
will be a ``vital contribution to the world's collective memory and
understanding of the Holocaust.'' We must do everything we can to
ensure that nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again, not in
Europe, not in the Middle East, not in Africa, not anywhere.
And I thank the gentleman again.
Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on
Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I appreciate the
opportunity.
Madam Speaker, opening these historical records on the Holocaust at
this time, I think, is absolutely vital for the debate that is going on
in the world today, when, ironically, you have a head of a state like
President Ahmadinejad in Iran who simultaneously manages to say that
the Holocaust never occurred and that we should have another Holocaust
and that the Jewish people should be erased, that Jerusalem and Israel
should be erased from the map. When you have the kinds of assertions
that we read about, it is vital that those records be discussed by
scholars, be surveyed by the families of those who lost loved ones, and
that the debate be reengaged.
And the reason I say this is this weekend at Chapman University they
had a program with 280 Holocaust survivors who had been interviewed by
students and we heard the students' words about what they had learned
about the Holocaust.
My father was present at that program, and he was also present and
took photographs at Dachau when that camp was liberated and has since
that time had to repeatedly engage those who deny the evidence of those
eye-witnesses to history who recorded what had happened there. The
words that he has written about this and the speeches that he has given
in debate record the four ovens with the bodies stacked like cordwood
next to the ovens and in the ovens and the thousands of human beings
packed into railcars where they were left to starve to death. The fact
that people today still engage us in this argument is why these
archives must be turned over to researchers. As he said, when his
generation is dead, the last eye-witnesses to this inhumanity will be
gone and the Ahmadinejads and those who deny what happened in history
will have a chance to try to repeat history.
One other point: the evidence uncovered here, the evidence exposed
here, will help us better defend the Jewish people and to explain to
some of our colleagues and to the world why it is the United States
understands why the threats from people like Ahmadinejad are so
dangerous.

{time} 1415

Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, first, let me thank the gentleman from
California for his contribution to the debate today. I think his
remarks are right on target.
At this time, Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman
from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
Ms. SCHAKOWKSY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York
for yielding, but also for his great leadership on this and so many
issues that affect the Jewish community and that affect justice.
I rise in strong support of H. Res. 854 to congratulate the member
states of the International Commission of the International Tracing
Service for opening the Holocaust archives located in Bad Arolsen,
Germany.
For 62 years after the end of the Second World War, the Holocaust
archives located in Bad Arolsen remain the largest closed World War II
era archives in the world. While Holocaust survivors and their families
could request access to individual records, many reported facing
significant delays, and these important archives remained inaccessible
to researchers.
Fortunately, that has all changed. Each of the 11 member countries of
the International Commission of the International Tracing Services has
ratified the May 2006 amendments to the Bonn Accords, opening these
treasured archives to researchers, including those at the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Opening the historic record is a vital contribution to the world's
collective memory and understanding of the Holocaust. Greater
understanding of the materials contained in the Bad Arolsen archives
will help ensure that unchecked anti-Semitism is not allowed to take
hold in the world again.
Each year, the Congress recognizes Holocaust Remembrance Day, and I
am pleased that today we are continuing our efforts to ``never
forget.''
My district, the Ninth Congressional District of Illinois, is home to
the largest concentration of survivors in the State of Illinois and
perhaps the country, and the opening of the Bad Arolsen Archive holds
deep meaning for those individuals in the entire community. Perhaps the
records located there will help these families fill in the blanks of
their lives that were shattered by Nazi Germany.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of H. Res. 854.
I urge all of my colleagues to lend it their support.

Permission to Add Member as Cosponsor of H. Res. 854

Mr. MANZULLO. I would ask unanimous consent to add the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) as a cosponsor to this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. That would be the prerogative of the primary
sponsor through the hopper.
Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House
Resolution 854, which commends all countries that worked to ratify the
amendments to the Bonn Accords to permit open access to the Holocaust
Archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany.
I want to thank my colleague from Florida, Congressman Hastings, for
bringing this important resolution to the Floor.
For the last 62 years, records relating to more than 17 million
Holocaust victims have been sealed inside the archives at Bad Arolsen,
Germany--the largest WWII-era archives in the world. To carry forward
the process of rectifying past wrongdoing and to prevent subsequent
humanitarian crimes, it is critical that we throw open the doors of
dark repositories like Bad Arolsen and allow the light of
accountability to shine in.
To open the archives at Bad Arolsen, all 11 members of the
International Commission of the International Tracing Service (ITS)
were required to ratify the May 2006 amendments to the 1955 Bonn
Accords. On November 28, 2007, the final state ratified the amendments,
so that Holocaust survivors, their descendents, researchers, and the
general public are finally allowed full access to the records housed at
the facility.
At a time when anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial persist around the
world, a vote for this resolution will serve as an indictment of
secretive government practices that facilitated vast crimes, and it
will reaffirm that the atrocities experienced by Holocaust victims will
be remembered and mourned in perpetuity.
I commend Mr. Hastings for his leadership on this issue, and I urge
my colleagues to join me in expressing gratitude to our international
partners for ratifying the treaty to release Holocaust records and in
congratulating the United States Holocaust Museum, the U.S. Department
of State, and the International Red Commission of the Red Cross for
their efforts to open the archives.
Mr. WEXLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House
Resolution 854, highlighting the decision made by the member states of
the International Commission of the International Tracing Service, ITS,
to finally grant access to the vast Holocaust archives located in Bad
Arolsen, Germany.
The recent decision to fully open the archives closed a frustrating
chapter for Holocaust survivors whose requests for information, which
numbered in the hundreds of thousands, were left unanswered.

[[Page H1462]]

As many of my colleagues are aware, for 63 years the most extensive
collection of files documenting the horrors of the Holocaust were
extensively closed to survivors, heirs, researchers and family members
seeking to find out the true fate of their loved ones or to document
the horrific atrocities committed by the Nazis.
The Bad Arolsen archives, with its 50 million documents chronicling
the fate of over 17 million victims of the Holocaust, is a vital
resource for the remaining Holocaust survivors and their families who
are struggling to bring closure to this painful chapter of history.
Many Holocaust survivors have died without knowing the details of a
family member's deportation, incarceration, or death. The opening of
the Bad Arolsen archives will now enable survivors as well as second
and third generation survivors to gain access to vital information
about their family history.
There are many individuals and organizations that deserve credit for
their efforts in fully opening Bad Arolsen. In Congress there was a
strong bipartisan effort to raise awareness about the world's largest
Holocaust archive that was for all intents and purposes closed. To
that, I would like to thank my colleague from south Florida,
Congressman Alcee Hastings, for his tireless work on this issue, as
well as the many sponsors of this resolution, many of whom were also
involved in efforts to reach out to the parliaments of the member
states of the International Commission of the ITS to ensure the timely
ratification of the amendments to the Bonn Accords.
Now that this vital archive has been made public, information
unjustly denied to survivors and their families for the past 63 years
can be brought to light. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in
supporting this resolution.
Mr. MANZULLO. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, at this time, we have no further speakers
on the subject, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 854, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``Expressing
gratitude to all of the member states of the International Commission
of the International Tracing Service on ratifying the May 2006
Agreement to amend the 1955 Bonn Accords granting access to vast
Holocaust and other World War II related archives located in Bad
Arolsen, Germany.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

____________________