[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 194 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                 TRIBUTE TO LEONID ``LULU'' SAHAROVICI

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 10, 2018

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my constituent 
and friend, Leonid ``Lulu'' Saharovici, a longtime member of the 
Tennessee Holocaust Commission, who worked in a Nazi-backed Romanian 
labor camp in his youth and passed away last month at age 91.
  Mr. Saharovici was educated at the University of Bucharest Law School 
and pursued a career in administrative law and teaching at his alma 
mater before he and his wife of 62 years, Frida, and their children 
Alex (Debra), then 12, Livio (Heidi), then 8, emigrated to the U.S. Mr. 
Saharovici was hired by National Mortgage in Memphis in 1972 and worked 
there until his retirement in 1994. He also taught Romanian and 
Romanian Culture classes at Rhodes College.
  After attending a Jewish Holocaust survivors gathering in Washington, 
D.C., in 1983, Mr. Saharovici wrote to Tennessee lawmakers with the 
idea of creating a Tennessee Holocaust Commission, which became a 
reality two years later. I'm proud to have been a sponsor of that 
effort as a Tennessee state senator. Mr. Saharovici was named as a 
Tennessee Holocaust commissioner and served in that capacity for 33 
years. In that position, he devoted his time to educating high school 
students about the horrors of the Holocaust in an effort to ensure 
something like it could never happen again.
  Mr. Saharovici was an active member of the Baron Hirsch Synagogue 
congregation and was a life member of its Board of Directors. Mr. 
Saharovici also co-founded the Jewish Historical Society and served as 
its second president. He also collected Passover Haggadahs. As Chairman 
of the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art, he gave guided tours of the 
museum through the years.
  An avid fan of the Memphis Symphony and opera in Memphis, he served 
as Chairman of the Belz/Parker Ascending Concerts series and invited 
musicians visiting Memphis to stage concerts at LeBonheur Children's 
Hospital, the West Clinic, Stax Museum and St. Jude Childrens Research 
Hospital.
  In 2010, Mr. Saharovici received the Jefferson Award for his efforts 
to improve society, his work educating the public about the Holocaust 
and his work bringing cultural and historical events to the city.
  Mr. Saharovici lived a storied life and contributed in important ways 
to the adopted community he loved so well. I wish his friends and 
family my best.

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