[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2296-S2297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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    SENATE RESOLUTION 181--HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF CARL LUTZ

  Mr. BLUNT (for himself and Mr. Casey) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 181

       Whereas Carl Lutz was born on March 30, 1895, in 
     Walzenhausen, Switzerland, but moved to the United States as 
     a young man;
       Whereas Carl Lutz became a diplomat, eventually serving at 
     the Swiss consulate in what was then Mandatory Palestine;
       Whereas, in 1942, Carl Lutz was transferred to Budapest, 
     Hungary, where he--
       (1) served as the Swiss vice consul until the end of World 
     War II; and
       (2) represented countries that had severed diplomatic 
     relations with Hungary because of its German alliance;
       Whereas Carl Lutz, upon arrival in Budapest, began to work 
     to help Jews receive Swiss diplomatic protection so they 
     could flee Nazi persecution;
       Whereas, in 1944, Carl Lutz received permission to issue 
     protective papers to save 8,000 Jews from deportation, which 
     Lutz determined to mean 8,000 families, not 8,000 
     individuals;
       Whereas Carl Lutz extended Swiss protection to 76 buildings 
     that operated as safe houses for Jewish refugees seeking 
     protection, including a department store called the Glass 
     House, which served as a refuge for up to 3,000 Jews and as a 
     headquarters for the Zionist underground;
       Whereas, in November 1944, Carl Lutz and his wife, Trudi 
     Lutz, joined a death march to various concentration camps, 
     pulling Jews out of the line to issue as many protective 
     papers as possible;
       Whereas, at the end of World War II, Carl Lutz and his 
     coconspirators, including his wife, his staff, and the 
     Zionist underground members, saved over 50,000 Jews, which 
     was half of the surviving Jewish population of Budapest; and
       Whereas the United States is deeply indebted to Carl Lutz, 
     who was responsible for the largest civilian rescue mission 
     of Jews during World War II: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the life and legacy of Carl Lutz;
       (2) recognizes that the heroic effort of Carl Lutz went 
     above and beyond the call of duty to save the Hungarian Jews 
     ``condemned to die'' because he believed it to be a ``matter 
     of conscience''; and
       (3) expresses deep appreciation to Carl Lutz on behalf of 
     the United States for facilitating the largest civilian 
     rescue mission of Jews during World War II, saving over 
     50,000 Jews through the protective papers and documentation 
     he issued.

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