[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 179 (Tuesday, November 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9474-H9475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RABBI MICHOEL BER WEISSMANDL CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT OF 2017
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 2740) to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi
Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of valor during World
War II.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2740
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl
Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl was born in Hungary on
October 25, 1903, later moving to Slovakia to study under
Rabbi Shumel Dvoid Ungar in Nitra.
(2) During his time in Nitra, he quickly became a senior
figure within the local Jewish community and Yeshiva.
(3) Weissmandl was responsible for some of the daring
efforts to save the Jewish people of Slovakia from the
Holocaust, which include the establishment of a ``Working
Group'', an underground organization that raised funds to
negotiate ransom with German and Slovakian officials in order
to delay mass deportations.
(4) During the Nazi regime, Weissmandl used his contacts
from England to obtain visas, becoming one of the first to
actively protect people of Jewish ancestry in Europe.
(5) Weissmandl also wrote telegrams to generate awareness
of the Jewish people's plight and encouraged other strategic
approaches to stop the Holocaust, including the bombing of
railroad tunnels to prevent the transportation of persons to
concentration camps.
(6) Weissmandl established a Working Group--a wide variety
of people from different political and ideological
spectrums--whose common goal was to save people from the
``Final Solution''.
(7) The Working Group was one of the first to document in
writing the accounts of Auschwitz Escapees in a document
widely referred to as the ``Auschwitz Protocols''.
(8) Weissmandl himself later translated the initial
documentation from German to Hebrew and included a widely
known addendum that pleaded for action.
(9) Weissmandl wrote the first known appeal for the use of
Allied air resources to disrupt the Holocaust.
(10) In 1942 when Slovakia started deportation for
``resettlement'', Rabbi Weissmandl was the first to inform
the Working Group that people were being murdered and not
sent to work as originally claimed.
(11) Rabbi Weissmandl also played an instrumental role in
Solomon Schoenfeld Kindertransport rescue, helping save
hundreds of lives.
(12) Rabbi Weissmandl came to America and in 1945
immediately got to work to establish a home and Yeshiva for
Holocaust survivors. The Yeshiva of Nitra he established in
Mount Kisco, New York, was the first Yeshiva campus in
America and became and example that other institutions
followed.
(13) Rabbi Weissmandl has significantly influenced the
flourishing communities of Talmudic scholars in Brooklyn, New
York, and generally across the United States.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate
shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on
behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design, to
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of
valor during World War II.
(b) Participation by Weissmandl Committee.--For the purpose
of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the
Speaker and President pro tempore shall ensure that the
Weissmandl Committee may accept the medal on behalf of
Michoel Ber Weissmandl.
(c) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the
presentation referred to in subsection
[[Page H9475]]
(a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be
determined by the Secretary.
(d) Transfer of Medal After Presentation.--Following the
presentation of the gold medal in honor of Michoel Ber
Weissmandl under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be
given to Samuel Dovid Weissmandl or, should he not be
present, to Rabbi Menachem Meir Weissmandl.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the
gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 at a price sufficient
to cover the cost of the bronze medals (including labor,
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses) and
the cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDAL.
(a) National Medal.--The gold medal struck under this Act
is a national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31,
United States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and
5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under
this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
General Leave
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Kentucky?
There was no objection.
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2740, the Rabbi Michoel
Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017, introduced on
April 25, 2017, by our colleague, Representative Nydia Velazquez,
cosponsored by Representative Mast of Florida.
The bill authorizes the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the
Jewish rabbi for his acts of valor during World War II to save many
Jewish people from Slovakia from persecution, the atrocities and the
Holocaust committed by the Nazis during the Second World War.
Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise as the proud sponsor of the Rabbi Michoel Ber
Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017, which will award a
Congressional Gold Medal to the rabbi for his acts of valor during
World War II.
Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl was born in Hungary in 1903. In 1931 he
moved to Slovakia and quickly became a senior figure within the local
Jewish community and Yeshiva.
As fascism spread across Europe in the late 1930s and early 1940s,
Rabbi Weissmandl led some of the most daring efforts to save the Jewish
people of Slovakia from the Holocaust.
When the Nazis, aided by members of the puppet government in
Slovakia, began to move against the Slovak Jews in 1942, Rabbi
Weissmandl became a key member of the Bratislava Working Group. This
underground organization was comprised of a wide variety of people from
different political and ideological spectrums, but united by a common
goal: to protect the Jewish people of Europe from Hitler's Final
Solution.
In his role as a member of the Working Group, Rabbi Weissmandl worked
to raise funds to negotiate ransom with German and Slovakian officials
in order to delay mass deportations. We cannot understate the dangers
the rabbi undertook in this endeavor.
Had he approached the wrong official or an unyielding Hitler
supporter, he most certainly would have put his own life in jeopardy.
Despite that peril, he persevered, demonstrating an unyielding
determination to stop the slaughter of the innocent.
Using his contacts in England, Rabbi Weissmandl also worked to secure
British visas for more than 60 European rabbis after the annexation of
Austria, becoming one of the first individuals to protect European Jews
by arranging for their escape to England.
The Working Group was also one of the first to record the accounts of
Auschwitz escapees in a document widely referred to as the Auschwitz
Protocols. Weissmandl later translated the initial documentation from
German to Hebrew and included an addendum that pleaded for further
action.
He also wrote the first known appeal for the use of Allied air power
to disrupt the Holocaust, including the use of aerial bombs to destroy
the rail lines and tunnels leading to Auschwitz.
During one of the darkest periods in human history, Rabbi
Weissmandl's efforts to protect the lives of European Jews at the risk
of his own life reflect true heroism in the face of unspeakable evil.
We must never forget these contributions, and it is fitting that we
honor his legacy by awarding a Congressional Gold Medal in his name.
Mr. Speaker, at a time of unparalleled evil, Rabbi Weissmandl took
extraordinary risks to save the lives of Slovakian Jews. To this day,
his influence can be felt throughout the Jewish community, not only
here in the United States, but around the world.
It is with the utmost respect and honor that I have introduced this
bill to award Rabbi Weissmandl with a Congressional Gold Medal, the
highest civilian award in the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, Representative Brian Mast,
for introducing this bill with me and his work to advance this
legislation. I also want to thank my 295 other colleagues who have
cosponsored the bill. I strongly urge passage of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Weissmandl's life story is uplifting and
his actions are inspiring. This Gold Medal is an overdue honor and is
supported by 296 Members of the House.
Mr. Speaker, I urge its immediate passage, and I want to thank
Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, Representative Velazquez,
and Representative Mast for their leadership on this important
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 2740.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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