[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3661-3664]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING GRATITUDE TO MEMBER STATES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION 
                  OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRACING SERVICE

  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 854) expressing gratitude to all of the member 
states of the International Commission of the International Tracing 
Service (ITS) on ratifying the May 2006 Agreement to amend the 1955 
Bonn Accords granting open access to vast Holocaust and other World War 
II related archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 854

       Whereas for the past 62 years, until their ultimate release 
     on November 28, 2007, the International Tracing Service 
     (``ITS'') archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany remained 
     the largest closed Holocaust-era archives in the world;
       Whereas while Holocaust survivors and their descendants 
     have had limited access to individual records at Bad Arolsen, 
     reports suggest that they faced long delays, incomplete 
     information, and even unresponsiveness;
       Whereas until the archives' recent release, the materials 
     remained inaccessible to researchers and research 
     institutions;
       Whereas the 1955 Bonn Accords established an International 
     Commission of 11 member countries (Belgium, France, Germany, 
     Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, 
     the United Kingdom, the United States) responsible for 
     overseeing the administration of the ITS Holocaust archives 
     which contain 17,500,000 individual names and 50,000,000 
     documents;
       Whereas the new International Committee of the Red Cross 
     (``ICRC'') and the Director of the ITS, who is an ICRC 
     employee, oversee the daily operations of the ITS and report 
     to the Commission at its annual meetings;
       Whereas the new ICRC leadership at the ITS should be 
     commended for their commitment to providing expedited and 
     comprehensive responses to Holocaust survivor requests for 
     information, and for their efforts to complete the 
     digitization of all archives as soon as possible;
       Whereas since the inception of the ITS, the German 
     government has financed its operations;
       Whereas beginning in the late 1990s, the U.S. Holocaust 
     Memorial Museum (``Holocaust Museum''), Holocaust survivor 
     organizations, and others began exerting pressure on 
     International Commission members to allow unfettered access 
     to the ITS archives;
       Whereas following years of delay, in May 2006 in Luxemburg, 
     the International Commission of the ITS agreed upon 
     amendments to the Bonn Accords which would grant researchers 
     access to the archives and would allow each Commission member 
     country to receive a digitized copy of the archives and make 
     the copy available to researchers under their own country's 
     respective archival and privacy laws and practices;
       Whereas the first 3 Commission member countries to ratify 
     the amendments to the Bonn Accords were the United States, 
     Israel, and Poland, all 3 home to hundreds of thousands of 
     survivors of Nazi brutality;
       Whereas the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has 
     worked to ensure the timely release of the Bad Arolsen 
     archives to survivors, researchers, and the public;
       Whereas the United States Department of State engaged in 
     diplomatic efforts with other Commission member countries to 
     provide open access to the archives;
       Whereas the United States House of Representatives 
     unanimously passed H. Res. 240 on April 25, 2007 and the 
     United States Senate passed S. Res. 141 on May 1, 2007, 
     urging all member countries of the International Commission 
     of the ITS who have yet to ratify the May 2006 Amendments to 
     the 1955 Bonn Accords Treaty, to expedite the ratification 
     process to allow for open access to the Holocaust archives 
     located at Bad Arolsen, Germany;
       Whereas on May 15, 2007, the International Commission voted 
     in favor of a United States proposal to allow a transfer of a 
     digital copy of archived materials to any of the 11 member 
     States that have adopted the May 2006 amendments to the Bonn 
     Accords; thereafter, transfer of materials to both the United 
     States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem, the 
     Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in 
     Israel, was initiated;
       Whereas while it is not possible to provide meaningful 
     compensation to Holocaust survivors for the pain, suffering 
     and loss of life they have experienced, it is a moral and 
     justifiable imperative for Holocaust survivors and their 
     families to be offered expedited open access to these 
     archives;
       Whereas with respect to the release of the materials, time 
     is of the essence in order for Holocaust researchers to 
     access the archives while Holocaust survivor eyewitnesses to 
     the horrific atrocities of Nazi Germany are still alive;
       Whereas opening the historic record is a vital contribution 
     to the world's collective memory and understanding of the 
     Holocaust and to ensure that unchecked anti-Semitism and 
     complete disrespect for the value of human life, including 
     the crimes committed against non-Jewish victims which made 
     such horrors possible, is never again permitted to take hold;
       Whereas despite overwhelming international recognition of 
     the unconscionable horrors of the Holocaust and its 
     devastating impact on World Jewry, there has been a sharp 
     increase in global anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in 
     recent years; and
       Whereas it is critical that the international community 
     continue to heed the lessons of the Holocaust, one of the 
     darkest periods in the history of humankind, and take 
     immediate and decisive measures to combat the scourge of 
     anti-Semitism: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses its appreciation to all countries that 
     ratified the amendments to the Bonn Accords allowing for open 
     access to the Holocaust Archives located in Bad Arolsen, 
     Germany;
       (2) congratulates the dedication, commitment, and 
     collaborative efforts of the United States Holocaust Memorial 
     Museum, the Department of State, and the International 
     Committee of the Red Cross to open the archives;
       (3) encourages the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 
     and the International

[[Page 3662]]

     Committee of the Red Cross to act with all possible urgency 
     to create appropriate conditions to ensure survivors, their 
     families, and researchers have direct access to the archives, 
     and are offered effective assistance in navigating and 
     interpreting these archives;
       (4) remembers and pays tribute to the murder of 6,000,000 
     innocent Jews and more than 5,000,000 other innocent victims 
     during the Holocaust committed by Nazi perpetrators and their 
     collaborators; and
       (5) must remain vigilant in combating global anti-Semitism, 
     intolerance, and bigotry.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Tauscher). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) and the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Manzullo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to support this resolution which 
recognizes the long overdue ratification of an international agreement 
that will open access to records of the Holocaust and Nazi war crimes. 
And I would like to commend my good friend and distinguished colleague, 
Alcee Hastings of Florida, for introducing this measure before us 
today.
  On January 27, designated by the United Nations as the International 
Holocaust Remembrance Day, the world paused to honor the victims of 
this terrible crime and to vow never again to allow such atrocities to 
happen.
  For many victims and relatives of the Holocaust, 2008 may provide the 
first opportunity to obtain access to information about their own 
treatment as well as the fate of their loved ones in Nazi death camps.
  In 1955, 11 member countries signed the Bonn Accords to establish an 
International Commission responsible for overseeing the administration 
by the International Tracing Service of Holocaust archives.
  The service is based in Bad Arolsen, Germany, and is directed by the 
International Committee of the Red Cross.

                              {time}  1400

  Madam Speaker, the archive holds over 85,000 feet of records, listing 
victims' names, transport details, medical records, and in some cases 
the only history of those who died at the hands of the Nazis. The 
records contain over 50 million reference cards for over 17.5 million 
people.
  For over 60 years, ITS has limited access to its records to survivors 
of Nazi crimes and their descendants. Aging Holocaust survivors have 
criticized ITS for delayed responses or a complete failure to provide 
them with any information. By 2006 ITS had recorded a backlog of over 
400,000 requests.
  Following years of delay, the 11 parties to the Bonn Accords Treaty 
signed amendments in May 2006 to ensure the records were fully opened 
to survivors as well as researchers. This process was to be enhanced by 
the distribution of digitized records to member countries.
  While the United States, Israel, Poland, and the Netherlands were the 
first signatories to ratify the amendments, Holocaust survivors were 
forced to wait still longer until the remaining countries completed 
their ratification procedures. In April 2007, this House passed H. Res. 
240 calling on the remaining seven countries to ratify the amendments 
by the May 2007 deadline.
  The resolution before us today expresses appreciation to all member 
countries for having ratified the amendments, allowing survivors the 
opportunity to find peace in the material contained in these archives. 
The resolution highlights the key roles played by the United States 
Holocaust Museum, the Department of State, and the International 
Community of the Red Cross in achieving this outcome. And it calls on 
the Holocaust Museum and the Red Cross to create the necessary 
conditions by which survivors and their families can promptly obtain 
long-sought-after information regarding Holocaust-era atrocities. While 
the ratification of these amendments is tragically too late for many 
victims, the hope is that it provides answers for many others.
  I support this resolution, Madam Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to 
do the same.
  With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of H. Res. 854 on the opening of Bad Arolsen 
Holocaust archives. I would like to thank the author of this 
resolution, Congressman Hastings, as well as Ranking Member Ros-
Lehtinen, Congressman Wexler, and Congressman Kirk, who have fought for 
opening access to the Holocaust archives in Bad Arolsen, Germany.
  The archives there have been the largest closed Holocaust-era 
collection of documents in the world, containing millions of records 
about the fates of over 17 million victims of Nazi Germany. The archive 
became open to the public in November of last year after 11 countries 
of its governing body ratified the agreement that allowed the 
collection to become open and for those documents to be transferred to 
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem in Israel.
  Open access to these records will provide many Holocaust survivors 
and their families with the information about their loved ones. 
Additionally, it will present researchers and scholars with materials 
necessary to enhance the public knowledge about the Holocaust.
  Now that the archive is open and the U.S. Holocaust Museum is able to 
answer requests, it is very important that the survivors and their 
family members are aware of these services and are able to immediately 
submit requests for information about their loved ones.
  In conclusion, I urge Members from both sides of the aisle to support 
H. Res. 854.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, at this time I wish to yield 5 minutes to 
my good friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I thank my very good friend and cosponsor of 
this resolution, Representative Crowley, for the time.
  Madam Speaker, this resolution on the floor is the culmination of 
longstanding efforts I have made with Representative Wexler, who is 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe; Representative Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; 
Representative Mark Kirk; and many others to open the largest closed 
Holocaust-era archive in the world and release critical Holocaust 
records.
  As I stand today in support of a resolution making this significant 
event in Holocaust history, I cannot help but reflect on the 
longstanding life and career of a true champion of human rights and 
Holocaust issues, the former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee and the first and only Holocaust survivor Member of Congress, 
Representative Tom Lantos.
  These archives will forever contribute to the world's collective 
memory of the Holocaust atrocities experienced and the immense bravery 
exhibited by Representative Lantos and his wife and other survivors who 
are no longer with us today.
  The opening of the Bad Arolsen archives will enable Holocaust 
survivors, their descendants, and future generations of researchers and 
the public access to some 50 million records on the fates of 17.5 
million individual victims of Nazi brutality.
  In our world today, filled with growing international intolerance, 
including anti-Semitism, hate, racial bigotry, xenophobia, and 
religious discrimination, it could not be more critical for us to 
ensure unfettered access

[[Page 3663]]

to these Holocaust archives. The ultimate release of these documents 
serves to further delegitimize world leaders and other extremist 
factions who spew anti-Semitic propaganda and downplay or deny the 
significance of the Holocaust.
  I am thankful for the collaborative efforts and leadership shown by 
the Holocaust Memorial Museum, new leadership of the International 
Committee of the Red Cross at the International Tracing Service, the 
State Department, survivor groups, and this body of Congress to 
pressure the member states of the ITS to throw open the doors of these 
archives.
  Our success sends a robust message to the world that the horrors of 
the Holocaust shall forever remain at the forefront of our collective 
and individual memories. The ultimate release of these archives proves 
that the world recognizes the moral importance of combating the scourge 
of modern-day anti-Semitism.
  May we never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust. May this 
historic event serve as a constant reminder to the world of what 
happens when humanity is silenced and evil permitted to wage war on the 
innocent.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. I want to thank the gentleman, the sponsor from Florida 
of this legislation, Mr. Hastings, for his comments.
  Madam Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to 
the gentlewoman from Las Vegas, Nevada (Ms. Berkley).
  Ms. BERKLEY. I want to return the compliment to the gentleman from 
New York. This is an issue that has been in the forefront of his mind 
and actions since he came to Congress. And I thank the sponsor of the 
legislation, Mr. Hastings, for bringing it to us today.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution and in the 
hope that this archive will help the world remember the crimes 
committed in the Holocaust and ease the pain of those families who lost 
loved ones in the Holocaust but to this day have no idea what happened 
to their families and their family members.
  We, unfortunately, find ourselves in an age where the absurdity of 
the Holocaust denial is on the rise, when the leader of Iran seeks to 
recreate Hitler's acts, and when anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are 
finding fertile ground all over the Internet.
  At the meeting of the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue last 
October in Las Vegas, Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-
Defamation League, laid out for us the troubling resurgence of global 
anti-Semitism, not only in Europe and in the Middle East but even here 
at home. Conspiracy theories flourish, claiming Jews control the media 
and the banking industry and Jewish lobbies have too much power, the 
same old canards that have existed for all too long. Mr. Foxman 
reminded us that these words and theories, often serious anti-Semitism 
disguised as ``anti-Zionism,'' are too often used by terrorists and 
hate groups to justify their actions.
  I'm sorry to say in a newspaper article in the Rebel Yell at my alma 
mater, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, just this week there was a 
horrible anti-Semitic and anti-Israel screed written by a misinformed 
student that has created shock waves across the Las Vegas community.
  As chairman of the Transatlantic Dialogue, I believe that I speak for 
all TLD members when I say how grateful we are to our friends across 
the Atlantic who have worked so hard to open these archives.
  It is my hope, as this resolution states, opening the historic record 
will be a ``vital contribution to the world's collective memory and 
understanding of the Holocaust.'' We must do everything we can to 
ensure that nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again, not in 
Europe, not in the Middle East, not in Africa, not anywhere.
  And I thank the gentleman again.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on 
Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
  Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I appreciate the 
opportunity.
  Madam Speaker, opening these historical records on the Holocaust at 
this time, I think, is absolutely vital for the debate that is going on 
in the world today, when, ironically, you have a head of a state like 
President Ahmadinejad in Iran who simultaneously manages to say that 
the Holocaust never occurred and that we should have another Holocaust 
and that the Jewish people should be erased, that Jerusalem and Israel 
should be erased from the map. When you have the kinds of assertions 
that we read about, it is vital that those records be discussed by 
scholars, be surveyed by the families of those who lost loved ones, and 
that the debate be reengaged.
  And the reason I say this is this weekend at Chapman University they 
had a program with 280 Holocaust survivors who had been interviewed by 
students and we heard the students' words about what they had learned 
about the Holocaust.
  My father was present at that program, and he was also present and 
took photographs at Dachau when that camp was liberated and has since 
that time had to repeatedly engage those who deny the evidence of those 
eye-witnesses to history who recorded what had happened there. The 
words that he has written about this and the speeches that he has given 
in debate record the four ovens with the bodies stacked like cordwood 
next to the ovens and in the ovens and the thousands of human beings 
packed into railcars where they were left to starve to death. The fact 
that people today still engage us in this argument is why these 
archives must be turned over to researchers. As he said, when his 
generation is dead, the last eye-witnesses to this inhumanity will be 
gone and the Ahmadinejads and those who deny what happened in history 
will have a chance to try to repeat history.
  One other point: the evidence uncovered here, the evidence exposed 
here, will help us better defend the Jewish people and to explain to 
some of our colleagues and to the world why it is the United States 
understands why the threats from people like Ahmadinejad are so 
dangerous.

                              {time}  1415

  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, first, let me thank the gentleman from 
California for his contribution to the debate today. I think his 
remarks are right on target.
  At this time, Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
  Ms. SCHAKOWKSY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York 
for yielding, but also for his great leadership on this and so many 
issues that affect the Jewish community and that affect justice.
  I rise in strong support of H. Res. 854 to congratulate the member 
states of the International Commission of the International Tracing 
Service for opening the Holocaust archives located in Bad Arolsen, 
Germany.
  For 62 years after the end of the Second World War, the Holocaust 
archives located in Bad Arolsen remain the largest closed World War II 
era archives in the world. While Holocaust survivors and their families 
could request access to individual records, many reported facing 
significant delays, and these important archives remained inaccessible 
to researchers.
  Fortunately, that has all changed. Each of the 11 member countries of 
the International Commission of the International Tracing Services has 
ratified the May 2006 amendments to the Bonn Accords, opening these 
treasured archives to researchers, including those at the United States 
Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  Opening the historic record is a vital contribution to the world's 
collective memory and understanding of the Holocaust. Greater 
understanding of the materials contained in the Bad Arolsen archives 
will help ensure that unchecked anti-Semitism is not allowed to take 
hold in the world again.
  Each year, the Congress recognizes Holocaust Remembrance Day, and I 
am

[[Page 3664]]

pleased that today we are continuing our efforts to ``never forget.''
  My district, the Ninth Congressional District of Illinois, is home to 
the largest concentration of survivors in the State of Illinois and 
perhaps the country, and the opening of the Bad Arolsen Archive holds 
deep meaning for those individuals in the entire community. Perhaps the 
records located there will help these families fill in the blanks of 
their lives that were shattered by Nazi Germany.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of H. Res. 854.
  I urge all of my colleagues to lend it their support.


          Permission to Add Member as Cosponsor of H. Res. 854

  Mr. MANZULLO. I would ask unanimous consent to add the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) as a cosponsor to this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. That would be the prerogative of the primary 
sponsor through the hopper.
  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Resolution 854, which commends all countries that worked to ratify the 
amendments to the Bonn Accords to permit open access to the Holocaust 
Archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany.
  I want to thank my colleague from Florida, Congressman Hastings, for 
bringing this important resolution to the Floor.
  For the last 62 years, records relating to more than 17 million 
Holocaust victims have been sealed inside the archives at Bad Arolsen, 
Germany--the largest WWII-era archives in the world. To carry forward 
the process of rectifying past wrongdoing and to prevent subsequent 
humanitarian crimes, it is critical that we throw open the doors of 
dark repositories like Bad Arolsen and allow the light of 
accountability to shine in.
  To open the archives at Bad Arolsen, all 11 members of the 
International Commission of the International Tracing Service (ITS) 
were required to ratify the May 2006 amendments to the 1955 Bonn 
Accords. On November 28, 2007, the final state ratified the amendments, 
so that Holocaust survivors, their descendents, researchers, and the 
general public are finally allowed full access to the records housed at 
the facility.
  At a time when anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial persist around the 
world, a vote for this resolution will serve as an indictment of 
secretive government practices that facilitated vast crimes, and it 
will reaffirm that the atrocities experienced by Holocaust victims will 
be remembered and mourned in perpetuity.
  I commend Mr. Hastings for his leadership on this issue, and I urge 
my colleagues to join me in expressing gratitude to our international 
partners for ratifying the treaty to release Holocaust records and in 
congratulating the United States Holocaust Museum, the U.S. Department 
of State, and the International Red Commission of the Red Cross for 
their efforts to open the archives.
  Mr. WEXLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Resolution 854, highlighting the decision made by the member states of 
the International Commission of the International Tracing Service, ITS, 
to finally grant access to the vast Holocaust archives located in Bad 
Arolsen, Germany.
  The recent decision to fully open the archives closed a frustrating 
chapter for Holocaust survivors whose requests for information, which 
numbered in the hundreds of thousands, were left unanswered.
  As many of my colleagues are aware, for 63 years the most extensive 
collection of files documenting the horrors of the Holocaust were 
extensively closed to survivors, heirs, researchers and family members 
seeking to find out the true fate of their loved ones or to document 
the horrific atrocities committed by the Nazis.
  The Bad Arolsen archives, with its 50 million documents chronicling 
the fate of over 17 million victims of the Holocaust, is a vital 
resource for the remaining Holocaust survivors and their families who 
are struggling to bring closure to this painful chapter of history.
  Many Holocaust survivors have died without knowing the details of a 
family member's deportation, incarceration, or death. The opening of 
the Bad Arolsen archives will now enable survivors as well as second 
and third generation survivors to gain access to vital information 
about their family history.
  There are many individuals and organizations that deserve credit for 
their efforts in fully opening Bad Arolsen. In Congress there was a 
strong bipartisan effort to raise awareness about the world's largest 
Holocaust archive that was for all intents and purposes closed. To 
that, I would like to thank my colleague from south Florida, 
Congressman Alcee Hastings, for his tireless work on this issue, as 
well as the many sponsors of this resolution, many of whom were also 
involved in efforts to reach out to the parliaments of the member 
states of the International Commission of the ITS to ensure the timely 
ratification of the amendments to the Bonn Accords.
  Now that this vital archive has been made public, information 
unjustly denied to survivors and their families for the past 63 years 
can be brought to light. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this resolution.
  Mr. MANZULLO. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, at this time, we have no further speakers 
on the subject, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 854, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``Expressing 
gratitude to all of the member states of the International Commission 
of the International Tracing Service on ratifying the May 2006 
Agreement to amend the 1955 Bonn Accords granting access to vast 
Holocaust and other World War II related archives located in Bad 
Arolsen, Germany.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________