[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E230-E231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SOL ROSENBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RODNEY ALEXANDER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2009

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay 
tribute to the late Sol Rosenberg. Rosenberg, who survived Nazi death 
camps to become a local titan in industry, philanthropy and civil 
affairs, died January 30, 2009, in Monroe, La., at the age of 82.
  As a young teenager, Rosenberg lived in the Warsaw Ghetto under anti-
Semitic law. He was imprisoned in four death camps, participated in the 
Warsaw Ghetto uprising, served as a slave laborer in two slave labor 
camps in Poland and survived the iniquitous Dachau Death March.
  After escaping from the concentration camp at Treblinka and taking 
part in the courageous rebellion in Warsaw, Rosenberg was sent to 
Dachau, where he was finally liberated after the Allies defeated the 
Nazis.
  In 1942, Nazis took the lives of his two sisters and both parents. He 
also lost his extended family of over 50 uncles, aunts and cousins to 
this devastating war.
  For almost six years, Rosenberg endured and witnessed unimaginable 
horror. Yet, he outlasted his enemies, miraculously evading the 
harrowing fate of everyone he loved, and somehow emerged with his 
compassion and resolve to live still intact.
  After World War II, Rosenberg met his wife, Tola, in a displaced 
persons camp in Germany. Tola was also a survivor of the war that took 
her entire family.
  In 1949, they left Europe for a new life in Louisiana, with little 
more than the clothes on their backs and a rough grasp of the English 
language. The couple raised their five children in this state.
  In the 1950s, Rosenberg founded Sol's Pipe and Steel in Monroe, which 
he ran for more than 50 years. Starting this business from scratch, 
Rosenberg eventually became a leading industrialist and community 
benefactor in northeastern Louisiana--another testament to his 
dedication and will to survive.

[[Page E231]]

  Rosenberg's involvement in community affairs was expansive, as were 
his charitable works. Schools, civic and service organizations and many 
other groups were the recipients of his kindness and charity.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mr. Sol Rosenberg--a 
friend and inspiration to many, and whose life was a true testament of 
the human strength and spirit.

                          ____________________