[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WARSAW UPRISING

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 339, S. Res. 375.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 375) recognizing the 75th anniversary 
     of the Warsaw Uprising.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations without amendment, and with an amendment to the preamble as 
follows:

       Whereas, October 2, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of the 
     tragic conclusion to the Warsaw Uprising, a landmark event 
     during World War II, in which brave citizens of Poland 
     revolted against the German Nazi occupation of the city of 
     Warsaw in the face of daunting and seemingly insurmountable 
     odds;
       Whereas the Warsaw Uprising, which was part of a nationwide 
     resistance against the German Nazi occupation of Poland and 
     lasted for 63 days, was started by the Polish Home Army, the 
     underground resistance effort that included many young and 
     brave individuals;
       Whereas the Warsaw Uprising occurred just over a year after 
     the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943, which was the 
     single largest act of Jewish resistance against forces of 
     Nazi Germany;
       Whereas, after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the remaining 
     Jewish Poles from Warsaw were sent to the Treblinka 
     extermination camp, the Majdanek labor camp, or other forced-
     labor camps;
       Whereas, beginning August 1, 1944, the Polish Home Army 
     fought against the German Nazi occupation of Warsaw, using 
     mostly homemade weapons and far outnumbered by the 
     overwhelming German Nazi force, at a cost of approximately 
     200,000 citizens of Poland killed, wounded, or missing;
       Whereas Adolf Hitler ordered the annihilation of the city 
     of Warsaw and the extermination of its citizens as punishment 
     for the uprising, decimating 80 percent of Warsaw with no 
     regard for the lives of the citizens of Warsaw or for the 
     rich heritage of historic architecture in Warsaw;
       Whereas a Soviet-led army halted its march toward the city 
     of Berlin at the banks of the Vistula River on the specific 
     orders of Stalin to allow the German Nazis to decimate the 
     Poles;
       Whereas, throughout the Warsaw Uprising, many people fled 
     the city of Warsaw, remained in hiding, or were wounded or 
     killed, and the surviving population of Warsaw, which once 
     totaled more than 1,300,000 people, was then sent to prisoner 
     of war camps and endured harsh conditions; 
       Whereas, after World War II, thousands of Polish refugees 
     fled from Poland due to persecution and came to the United 
     States for safety, security, and new opportunities;
       Whereas the deep, rich history and traditions of immigrants 
     from Poland who settled in the United States, particularly in 
     the States of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, 
     Illinois, and Wisconsin, have undeniably shaped the social 
     fabric and foundation of the United States;
       Whereas, in the 20th century, Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New 
     York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 
     Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois; served as the major 
     epicenters for immigrants and workers from Poland whose 
     remarkable contributions to industry led to the incorporation 
     of new towns and the subsequent growth of those towns;
       Whereas the heroic actions of the Polish underground 
     resistance during World War II and the brave citizenry of 
     Poland provide a valuable lesson in perseverance and 
     patriotism;
       Whereas the legacy of the Warsaw Uprising serves as one of 
     the most poignant reminders of the human cost of the Allied 
     war effort during World War II to defeat Adolf Hitler and the 
     German Nazis; and
       Whereas the bravery demonstrated by the citizens of Poland 
     during the Warsaw Uprising continues to inspire people 
     throughout the world who are subjected to tyranny and 
     oppression and who join the fight for freedom, democracy, and 
     the pursuit of liberty: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising;
       (2) commends the bravery, heroism, and patriotism of the 
     individuals who fought as part of the Polish Home Army in 
     order to liberate Poland from German Nazi occupation; and
       (3) honors the memory of the soldiers and civilians whose 
     lives were lost during the fighting, and the individuals who 
     suffered in concentration camps and death camps during World 
     War II and the Holocaust.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed 
to; the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be agreed to; the 
preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider 
be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 375) was agreed to.
  The committee-reported amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.

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