[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7639-H7640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING THE LIFE OF DIET EMAN

  (Mr. HUIZENGA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a very 
special hero who risked her life to care for others and left a 
remarkable legacy.
  Diet Eman was a longtime west Michigan resident who was born and

[[Page H7640]]

raised in the Netherlands. At 20 years old, she found herself in the 
middle of the crisis that had overtaken Europe during World War II.
  Recognizing the injustices against the Jewish people in Holland, Diet 
and her fiance, Hein Sietsma, formed the Dutch resistance group called 
``Help Elkander in Nood,'' which means ``helping each other in need.''
  Throughout the course of the war, Diet organized shelters and 
provided assistance to Jews in need, reported on German troop 
movements, and helped downed Allied pilots.
  Eventually, she was actually captured by the Germans and spent 3 
months in a concentration camp. However, her spirit and will could not 
be broken, and she outsmarted her interrogators, bluffed her captors 
into releasing her, and quickly returned to her work within the 
resistance movement.
  Diet was personally recognized by President Eisenhower for her 
contributions, as well as by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, who deemed 
her a national hero for her courage and sacrifice.
  Meeting her in person last year was a very special memory for me and 
my entire family. Diet never wavered in taking a stand for what is 
noble and lived a life full of bravery, compassion, and purpose.
  Through her efforts, Diet helped change the world and make it a 
better place.
  May her memory be eternal.

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