[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 98 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3695-H3697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1615
     FORGOTTEN HEROES OF THE HOLOCAUST CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

  Mr. FLOOD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 537) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats, in 
recognition of their bravery and heroism during the Holocaust, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 H.R. 537

       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 ``Forgotten Heroes of the 
     Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The following diplomats will be honored posthumously: 
     Per Anger (Sweden), Jose Maria Barreto (Peru), Lars Berg 
     (Sweden), Philippe Bernardini (Vatican / Italy), Hiram 
     (Harry) Bingham IV (United States), Friedrich Born 
     (Switzerland), Manuel Antonio Munoz Borrero (Ecuador), Carlos 
     de Liz-Texeira Branquinho (Portugal), Eduardo Propper de 
     Callejon (Spain), Samuel del Campo (Chile), Aracy Moebius 
     Carvalho de Guimaraes Rosa (Brazil), Jose Arturo Castellanos 
     (El Salvador), Carl Ivan Danielsson (Sweden), Luis Martins de 
     Souza Dantas (Brazil), Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz (Germany), 
     Harald Feller (Switzerland), Francis (Frank) Foley (United 
     Kingdom), Jean-Edouard Friedrich (Switzerland), Carlos 
     Almeida Afonseca de Sampaio Garrido (Portugal), Raymond 
     Herman Geist (United States), Feng-Shan Ho (China), 
     Constantin Karadja (Romania), Alexander Kasser (Sandor Kasza) 
     (Sweden / Hungary), Elow Kihlgren (Sweden), Joseph Willem 
     (Joop) Kolkman (Netherlands), Julius Kuhl (Switzerland), 
     Aleksander 4ados (Poland), Valdemar Langlet (Sweden), Charles 
     (Carl) Lutz (Switzerland), George Mandel-Mantello (El 
     Salvador), Florian Manoliu (Romania), Aristides de Sousa 
     Mendes (Portugal), Salomon Jacob (Sally) Noach (Netherlands), 
     Giorgio (Jorge) Perlasca (Spain / Italy), Ernst Prodolliet 
     (Switzerland), Franjo Puncuch (Yugoslavia / Slovenia), 
     Sebastian de Romero Radigales (Spain), Konstanty Rokicki 
     (Poland), Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (Vatican / Italy), Angelo 
     Rotta (Vatican / Italy), Albert Emile Routier (Turkey), 
     Stefan Ryniewicz (Poland), Gilberto Bosques Saldivar 
     (Mexico), Jose Ruiz Santaella (Spain), Angel Sanz-Briz 
     (Spain), Abdol-Hossein Sardari (Iran), Henryk Slawik 
     (Poland), Robert Smallbones (United Kingdom), Jan Spisiak 
     (Slovakia), Chiune (Sempo) Sugihara (Japan), Ireanaeus 
     Typaldos (Spain), Alexander (Sandor) Ujvary (Vatican / 
     Hungary), Selahattin Ulkumen (Turkey), Gennaro Verolino 
     (Vatican / Italy), Vladimir Vochoc (Czech Republic), Ernst 
     Vonrufs (Switzerland), Raoul Wallenberg (Sweden), Guelfo 
     Zamboni (Italy), Peter Zurcher (Switzerland), and Jan 
     Zwartendijk (Holland).
       (2) On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis began 
     their invasion of Europe, which started World War II and 
     threw the world into chaos. The Nazi plan of mass murder of 
     the Jewish population was in full motion. As battles were 
     being fought between countries, Jews were being rounded up 
     and sent to concentration camps throughout Europe. This 
     process began a mass exodus of people out of Europe, 
     especially those in the Jewish community.
       (3) During the war, members of the Jewish community used 
     every tool and means at their disposal to flee Nazi tyranny. 
     Thousands tried to flee on trains or boats to escape from 
     Europe.
       (4) While the armies of countries were fighting each other, 
     a handful of diplomats, from around the world, stepped 
     forward and took heroic actions to save Jews fleeing Europe. 
     This was an incredibly dangerous process. If the Nazis 
     discovered the actions of these diplomats they would be 
     expelled, as a few of them were. Also, while worrying about 
     the Nazis, diplomats had to worry about their careers and 
     livelihoods back home. Many of them had strict orders from 
     their home countries to not aid the Jewish population in any 
     way.
       (5) These diplomats used every means at their disposal to 
     help Jews fleeing persecution. One of the most powerful tools 
     the diplomats had to use was the issuing of passports and 
     travel visas contrary to the instruction of the governments 
     of the diplomats. This process alone is responsible for 
     saving hundreds of thousands of Jewish families in Europe. 
     This was not the only tool used as many of the diplomats were 
     connected with the local populations and were great 
     communicators for Jews trying to travel underground. They 
     were able set up safehouses and getaways to hide Jews and 
     especially Jewish children from Nazi authorities. In the most 
     dangerous of times, several of these diplomats confronted the 
     Nazis directly on behalf of the Jews and personally put 
     themselves in grave danger.
       (6) Every diplomat knew the dangers and knew what they were 
     up against, and still pushed forward to save those in the 
     most danger.
       (7) The Congressional Gold Medal authorized under this Act 
     will help remind humanity that when the diplomats were faced 
     with terrible crises, they went beyond the fold, including 
     risking their careers and the lives of themselves and their 
     families, to engage in this humanitarian mission. The 
     diplomats of today and future generations can look towards 
     these heroes and be inspired by their lives of heroism and 
     sacrifice.

     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 single gold medal of appropriate 
     design in honor of the 60 diplomats identified in section 
     2(1), in recognition of their brave and vital service of 
     saving Jews during World War II.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a 
     gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, 
     to be determined by the Secretary.
       (c) Presentation of Medal.--The single gold medal presented 
     under subsection (a) shall be presented collectively to the 
     eldest next of kin of each of the 60 diplomats identified in 
     section 2(1), who shall receive the medal as part of a 
     delegation consisting of a senior official representative of 
     the country that each diplomat served and the cochairs of the 
     Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Committee.
       (d) United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.--
       (1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
     honor of the 60 diplomats identified in section 2(1), the 
     gold medal shall be given to the United States Holocaust 
     Memorial Museum, where it will be available for display as 
     appropriate and available for research.
       (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum should make the 
     gold medal awarded pursuant to this Act available for display 
     elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated 
     with Holocaust remembrance.

     SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
     the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient 
     to cover the costs thereof, including labor, materials, dies, 
     use of machinery, and overhead expenses.

     SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

       (a) National Medal.--Medals struck pursuant to this Act are 
     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

[[Page H3696]]

     States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
     considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

       (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of 
     the medals struck under this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be 
     deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Flood) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FLOOD. Madam 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 Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FLOOD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 537, a bill that will posthumously award 
the Congressional Gold Medal to the forgotten heroes of the Holocaust.
  Madam Speaker, on September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis began 
their invasion of Europe, which started World War II and threw humanity 
into what would become one of the darkest periods in history.
  The Nazis sought the mass extermination of the Jewish people and 
wasted no time carrying out their vile plan. They hunted, rounded up, 
and sent Jews to concentration camps across Europe to be murdered in 
state-sponsored genocide that we now refer to as the Holocaust.
  However, a handful of diplomats from around the world took quick and 
heroic action to save Jews attempting to flee Europe. They resisted the 
anti-Semitic Nazi agenda, risking their families, careers, and lives to 
help innocent Jewish people flee persecution.
  Despite some receiving direct orders not to help the Jewish 
population, these diplomats issued passports and travel visas, set up 
safe houses and getaways to hide adults and children, and communicated 
with local communities to help fleeing Jews escape by traveling 
underground to safety.
  Because of the actions of these diplomats, hundreds of thousands of 
Jewish families in Europe escaped death at the hands of Hitler's Nazi 
regime. Although they were not the only ones who risked their lives to 
aid the Jewish community, today we celebrate 60 of those diplomats and 
honor their lives and actions with a Congressional Gold Medal.
  Sadly, anti-Semitism is an endemic and unrelenting scourge on 
history, rearing its ugly head even today just as it did 80 years ago 
during World War II.
  H.R. 537 honors those 60 diplomats who valiantly defied the systemic 
hatred by bravely doing what was right to stand up not only for the 
Jewish community but of all mankind. It is my hope that their courage 
will continue to inspire Americans today.
  Madam Speaker, I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to 
support it, as well. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TORRES of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 537, the Forgotten Heroes of 
the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act, sponsored by Representative 
Salazar and myself.
  Following the sacrifices honored over the weekend on the anniversary 
of the historic battle of Normandy, Congress today has the opportunity 
with this bipartisan bill to honor 60 diplomats from around the world 
in recognition of their courage, devotion, and sacrifice to rescue 
countless numbers of Jewish and other persecuted people during the Nazi 
occupation of Europe.
  The Holocaust was the genocide of over 6 million Jews and millions of 
others by the Nazis and has come to symbolize the depths of human 
cruelty, dehumanization, and mass violence.
  We remember the lives of over 10 million victims of Nazi Germany's 
persecution and mass executions, and today we recognize some of those 
individuals who demonstrated humanity and courage. The diplomats 
recognized by H.R. 537 and honored with this medal come from across the 
world. They faced a choice between being complacent with their then-
Nazi occupiers or following their conscience. Risking their lives and 
careers, they chose humanity and became heroes.
  After the Nazis took control of Germany and waged war on Europe, 
diplomats and foreign officials were in difficult positions. The 
diplomats recognized today made the decision to directly confront their 
own governments, the Nazi occupiers, and sympathizers to protect and 
rescue Europe's persecuted Jews.
  From issuing visas and protective documents to establishing safe 
houses with hospitals, nurseries, and soup kitchens for Europe's Jewish 
population, these individuals often defied explicit orders from their 
superiors.
  Individually, these diplomats saved thousands of Jews from 
persecution. With H.R. 537, each of us can honor their heroism and 
affirm for the whole Nation how one person, one act of kindness, and 
one act of civil disobedience can make a difference.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FLOOD. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Salazar), the bill's sponsor.
  Ms. SALAZAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge the passage of my 
bill, the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal 
Act.
  Anti-Semitism has always been a tragic feature of world history, but 
there was no greater display of anti-Semitism than when the Nazis tried 
to wipe out the Jews from the face of the Earth. Hitler and his satanic 
advisers were the architects of one of the cruelest chapters in the 
history of humanity called the Holocaust.
  We all know too well the horrors of that period, but we often forget 
the remarkable individuals across the world who, at great personal 
risk, helped millions and millions of Jews escape the death camps.
  H.R. 537 recognizes 60 diplomats--some of them are pictured right 
here--who used their positions and influence to help those under 
persecution escape death. How? By issuing fake visas or hiding them in 
the embassies. They simply smuggled the Jews destined for concentration 
camps out of the hands of evil.

  These heroes come from a variety of nations, including the United 
States, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, Italy, 
Poland, Japan, and even Nazi Germany. They displayed undeniable courage 
and embodied the best of humanity during one of the darkest times of 
human history.
  History, unfortunately, repeats itself, and today denial of the 
Holocaust is at an all-time high, with one out of five Americans under 
the age of 30 believing it never happened. Meanwhile, anti-Semitic 
incidents in this country, in the United States, have gone up more than 
300 percent since the terrorist attack on Israel last October.
  Honoring the heroes of the past helps us acknowledge the Holocaust as 
a real event and serves today in the present as a chilling reminder of 
one of the devastating consequences of silence in the face of evil. 
Nonetheless, despite these unspeakable atrocities that defined that 
period, these people demonstrated that humanity also has the capacity 
for extraordinary acts of courage.
  By supporting this legislation, we will honor the memory of these 
heroes, we will preserve the truth of the Holocaust for future 
generations, and we will continue to fight anti-Semitism in all its 
forms.
  Finally, I would like to acknowledge Abe Foxman and Art Reidel, as 
well as my co-lead of this bill, the gentleman from New York, the 
Honorable Congressman Ritchie Torres.
  Mr. TORRES of New York. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FLOOD. Madam Speaker, I would just underscore the importance of 
this bill in reminding us of the evils that existed 80 years ago and 
still exist today, and the bravery that embodied and continues to 
embody mankind today.

[[Page H3697]]

  I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for introducing this bill, and I 
thank the gentleman from New York for his cosponsorship. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Flood) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 537, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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