[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.
____________________