[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11892]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                              NORTH KOREA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I recently met with a German doctor, Dr. 
Norbert Vollertson, and talked to him about his experiences during his 
18 months living in North Korea.

                              {time}  1100

  The stories of suffering and the photos of starving children and 
adults were deeply moving. Dr. Vollertson made a strong statement that 
should spur the international community to action.
  When comparing the North Korean prison camps to Nazi concentration 
camps, Dr. Vollertson said, ``No journalist, nobody wanted to believe 
that Hitler is so cruel, that the German government is so cruel. I 
think it is my duty as a German to learn from history, to not make the 
same mistake twice.''
  He said what is happening in North Korea in the concentration camps, 
in his opinion, is as bad as what happened during the Second World War. 
It is the duty of the international community not to make the same 
mistake again, to ignore the plight of thousands of people in North 
Korea who are starving and in terrible prison situations where they are 
beaten and tortured and executed in horrific ways.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on this body and the administration to act on 
behalf of the people of North Korea, to act to ensure that the regime 
in North Korea is no longer allowed to continue destroying its people.

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