[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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