[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2] [House] [Pages 1607-1609] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]HONORING THE LIFE OF MIEP GIES Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1074) honoring the life of Miep Gies, who aided Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and preserved her diary for future generations. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1074 Whereas Hermine ``Miep'' Gies was born on February 15, 1909, in Vienna, Austria; Whereas Miep Gies was sent to live with a host family in the Netherlands when she was 11 years old after the tumult of World War I led to food shortages in Austria; Whereas in 1933, Miep Gies took a job as an office assistant to Otto Frank, owner of Opekta, a pectin manufacturing company, and father of Anne Frank; Whereas Miep Gies agreed without hesitation to hide and assist the Frank family to avoid Jewish persecution at the hands of Nazi Germany; Whereas Miep Gies helped hide and sustain the Frank family, along with Hermann and Auguste Van Pels, their son Peter, and later Fritz Pfeffer, for two years in a secret room above Opekta's offices, bringing them food, supplies, and writing supplies for Anne; Whereas when the Gestapo captured the Frank family, the Van Pels family, and Mr. Pfeffer, on August 4, 1944, Miep Gies discovered the pages of Anne Frank's diary in the secret room and hid them for safekeeping; Whereas after learning that Anne Frank and her sister Margot died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen, Miep Gies gave Anne Frank's diary to her father Otto, the only surviving member of the family; Whereas ``The Diary of a Young Girl'' by Anne Frank, which has been translated into 70 languages, is both an inspirational story about hope in the face of senseless tragedy and an important testament for future generations to the horrors of the Holocaust; Whereas Miep Gies shared her recollections to author Alison Leslie Gold for the book ``Anne Frank Remembered'', which was later made into a powerful documentary film; Whereas Miep Gies, who would recount her extraordinary life with a self-effacing modesty that betrayed her unfailing courage and integrity, serves as a powerful symbol of resistance against the forces of oppression and injustice; Whereas Miep Gies represents the valor demonstrated by the countless ordinary individuals who stood up to and helped defeat Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime; and Whereas Miep Gies passed away on January 11, 2010: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) recognizes Miep Gies's courage in risking her own life to hide and provide for the Frank family while they were in hiding; (2) commends Miep Gies for retrieving and preserving the diary of Anne Frank, which has served as an inspiration to countless people the world over; and (3) honors Miep Gies for her bravery during Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and her dedication to preserving the memory of Anne Frank and the Holocaust. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New York (Mr. McMahon) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York. General Leave Mr. McMAHON. 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. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume. Anne Frank and her family's struggle to survive the Holocaust is known to millions around the world, but few realize that the story of Anne and the Frank family would never have been known had it not been for the selfless acts of Miep Gies, who passed away on January 11. The Frank family was ultimately captured by the Gestapo and deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where Anne and her sister Margor died of typhus. Anne's diaries survived the war and continue to serve as an inspirational story of hope in the face of senseless tragedy and an important testament for future generations to the horrors of the Holocaust. Were it not for the selfless acts of Miep Gies, an employee of Anne's father, Otto, who aided the Frank family while they were in hiding and preserved Anne's diary, Anne's story would likely never have been known. Miep agreed without hesitation to hide and assist the Frank family to avoid persecution in the hands of the Nazis, and by doing so put her own life at risk. After the Gestapo discovered the Frank family's hiding place, Miep hid the pages of Anne's diary for safekeeping and years later returned them [[Page 1608]] to Otto, the only surviving member of the Frank family. Miep Gies also shared her recollections to author Alison Leslie Gold for the book, ``Anne Frank Remembered,'' which was later made into a powerful documentary film. She recounted her extraordinary life with a self- effacing modesty that betrayed her unfailing courage and integrity, serving as a powerful symbol of resistance against the forces of oppression and injustice. {time} 1430 We mourn the passing of this extraordinary woman, and honor her for her bravery and compassion. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Miep Gies' courage in risking her own life to hide and to provide for the Frank family and for preserving the memory of Anne Frank and the Holocaust. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of this bill, and I rise in support of House Resolution 1074, which honors the life of Miep Gies, who helped Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and who preserved Anne's famous diary for future generations. With Miep's passing on January 11, the world has lost a true hero. Before German occupation, Miep worked as an office assistant in Amsterdam for Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father. After Nazi Germany occupied Holland and after Hitler began to accelerate his plan for total extermination of the Jews, Anne Frank's father began to make plans to hide his family from persecution. As Miep later recalled in the spring of 1942, Otto Frank sat her down and told her that they were going to go into hiding, and he asked her if she would be willing to help out the family by bringing them food. Miep simply answered, ``Yes, of course.'' For 2 years, Miep, her husband and a number of her friends helped the Frank family and four other Jews hide in a small attic apartment behind the office of the Frank Family business. They brought them food and other necessities while putting their own lives at risk every day. During their years in hiding, Anne Frank, as we all know, kept a diary, which described her experiences. This diary would later become one of the most widely read books in the world, providing millions of people with a glimpse of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young, bright and ever hopeful Jewish girl. In August of 1944, the Gestapo discovered their hiding place, and they arrested the Frank family. After the Frank family was captured, Miep discovered the pages of Anne Frank's diary, and held them in safekeeping until after the war. She later gave the diary to Anne's father, who returned to Amsterdam after surviving Auschwitz. In fact, he was the only member of the Frank family who managed to survive. Anne's mother died in Auschwitz, and Anne and her sister perished in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Decades after the Holocaust, Miep stated the following about what she and her husband and a number of her friends did to help the Frank family and others: ``It seemed perfectly natural to me. I could help these people. They were powerless. They didn't know where to turn. I always emphasize that we were not heroes. We did our duty as human beings.'' What Miep and others did during the Holocaust to save lives, while putting their own at risk, was nothing short of heroism. Miep has survived and has received many honors for her heroism, including being knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and receiving a medal from Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. Though Miep passed away last month, her relentless courage, her compassion and her contribution to preserving one of the most unique and important documentations of the horrors of the Holocaust will not be forgotten. I thank my distinguished colleague, Congresswoman Kilroy, for introducing this measure which recognizes Miep's courage in risking her life to hide and to provide for the Frank family while they were in hiding. It commends Miep for retrieving and preserving the diary of Anne Frank. Further, it honors Miep for her bravery during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and it honors her dedication to preserving the memory of Anne Frank so as to remember the terrible lessons of the Holocaust. I support this important measure, Madam Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. With that, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the prime sponsor of this resolution, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kilroy). Ms. KILROY. Thank you, my colleagues. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1074, legislation that I introduced to honor the life of Hermine ``Miep'' Gies, who aided Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and who preserved her diary for future generations. I want to thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for their support in bringing this resolution to the floor. Why is it important to honor Miep Gies? I recently visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. It is an overwhelming experience, and as we ponder the horror of Hitler's plan to eradicate the Jewish people, we ask ourselves: How could this have happened? How could so many stand by silently? How could so many actually participate? So it is important, I think, to understand that there are some who spoke up, heroes like Miep Gies, and it is important to honor people like her, people who helped the Jews, who worked against the sea of hatred that had enveloped most of Europe at that time--people like Miep Gies, an ordinary woman, who did an extraordinary thing. She was born to a German Catholic family in Austria on February 15, 1909. When she was 11, her family sent her to live with a foster family in the Netherlands to escape food shortages in postwar Austria. She worked as a servant, as a seamstress, as waitress. Then, in 1933, she took a job with an Amsterdam manufacturing company owned by Otto Frank, a German Jew, who left Frankfurt when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany and when the organized attacks on the Jews began, including the boycott on Jewish businesses. Ms. Gies quickly became friends with the Frank family. On July 6, 1942, more than 2 years into the German occupation of the Netherlands, Otto Frank; his wife, Edith; and his daughters, Margot and Anne, went into hiding in a secret annex behind a bookshelf in Otto Frank's office. They were later joined by Hermann and Auguste Van Pels; their son, Peter; and Fritz Pfeffer. For 2 more years, Miep Gies, along with her husband, Jan, and three other employees of Otto Frank, risked their lives to supply the eight people in hiding with food, clothing, with news from the outside, and with paper for Anne to write on. As Anne noted in her diary, ``Miep has so much to carry; she looks like a pack mule. She goes forth nearly every day, scrounging for vegetables, and then bicycles back with her purchases in large shopping bags.'' Miep is also the one who brought five library books to Anne every Saturday. She did this during a time of war. It was a time of shortages, a time when getting food meant managing ration coupons. Despite their efforts, though, on August 4, 1944, the Gestapo raided the secret hiding place, and they captured the eight hideaways who were betrayed by an anonymous tip. Miep Gies discovered the pages of the diary that Anne kept during her time in hiding, and Miep locked them in a desk drawer for safekeeping. When she learned that Margot and Anne had died of typhus at the Bergen- Belsen concentration camp, she returned Anne's diary to Otto Frank, the only one of the eight to have survived the Holocaust. [[Page 1609]] Later in her life, she testified against the Neo-Nazis, who denied the authenticity of the diary. She helped in the establishment of a museum in the small building where Anne and her family had hid. As was noted, she passed away recently, on January 11, 2010, at the age of 100, but she kept alive a very important part of Holocaust history by preserving Anne's diary and by helping us to learn, to understand and to remember so it will not happen again. The ``Diary of a Young Girl,'' by Anne Frank, has been translated into 70 languages--an inspirational story about hope in the face of war and an important testament for future generations so that the horrors of the Holocaust will not be forgotten. Like so many others who read Anne's diary, as a young woman, I was deeply moved by her steadfast optimism even during a period of her life defined by the evil of that day. Thanks to Miep Gies' bravery, Anne's recollections have been preserved for future generations. Miep later described her efforts to assist the eight people in hiding, saying, ``Of course, it's nice to be appreciated, but I only did my duty to my fellow man. I helped people in need. Anyone can do that, can't they?'' This understated appraisal of her heroic acts is just one example of her modesty and her integrity. We can learn much from Miep Gies, an ordinary woman, who showed extraordinary courage in the face of unspeakable peril during Nazi occupation and the Holocaust. She is a powerful symbol of resistance against oppression and injustice. She is an example of our human capacity to rise even to the most daunting of challenges. I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing this incredible woman's life and legacy. Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I stand before you today in support of H. Res. 1074 ``Honoring the life of Miep Gies, who aided Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and preserved her diary for future generations.'' I would like to begin by thanking my colleague Representative Mary Jo Kilroy for introducing this resolution in the House, as it is important that we honor and recognize those who helped and aided groups of people who were persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. Furthermore, we must never forget the horrible atrocities of the Holocaust and continue to fight against acts of genocide around the world as well as fight against bigotry and intolerance here at home in the U.S. During the Second World War, Miep Gies helped and assisted Anne Frank and her family by hiding and protecting them from Nazi persecution. In fact, Miep Gies agreed to hide and assist the Frank family in avoiding Jewish persecution at the hands of the Nazis without hesitation. Miep Gies initially met Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank, in 1933 and worked as a secretary in his pectin manufacturing company, Opekta. After some time, she became well acquainted with the Frank family, as did her husband Jan Gies, whom she married on July 16, 1941. In the early 1940s, the Nazis began targeting specific groups of people including Jews, ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious groups. Between 1940 and 1945 during the Holocaust, more than 6 million Jews and other targeted groups were exterminated by the Nazis. During this time, Miep Gies along with her husband and several colleagues helped hide the Frank family including Edith and Otto Frank, their daughters Margot and Anne, Hermann and Auguste van Pels, their son Peter, and Fritz Pfeffer, from Nazi persecution. Miep Gies' husband Jan Gies was a member of the Dutch Resistance who was dedicated to assisting Jews and other persecuted peoples escape by obtaining illegal ration cards for food and finding good hiding places. Miep Gies and her husband hid the Frank family in a secret upstairs room of the office building that was used by Mr. Frank's spice company from July 1942 to August 1944. Every few days Miep Gies would come by the secret upstairs room of Mr. Frank's former office building and bring food supplies in addition to writing supplies for Anne Frank. Because of Miep Gies' genuine compassion and selflessness, her friends were able to evade the horrors of Nazi persecution for two years. Sadly, on the morning of August 4, 1944, the Grune Polizei arrested Anne Frank and her family who were hiding in the secret upstairs room of Mr. Frank's office building. Because of her genuine care and compassion for her friends however, Miep Gies attempted to petition and bribe the Austrian Nazi officer to release her friends for several days after their arrest. Unfortunately the officer would not allow for their release. After being arrested, Anne Frank and her family were deported to the Auschwitz Nazi Concentration Camp where Anne stayed until being transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Sadly, Anne Frank later died there in March 1945 at the age of 15 though her father Otto Frank, from whom she was separated, survived the war. Sometime after Anne Frank and her family were arrested and deported, Miep Gies found the diary Anne Frank had kept while hiding from the Nazis in the secret room and safeguarded it through the end of the war. It wasn't until after the end of World War II that Miep Gies released the pages of Anne Frank's diary to her father, Otto Frank. The diary of Anne Frank was later published and entitled ``The Diary of a Young Girl.'' The diary was also translated into 70 languages and remains as a testament for future generations on the horrors of the Holocaust and the importance of preventing genocide in all forms. Sadly Miep Gies recently passed away on January 11, 2010 leaving behind a legacy of compassion and teaching. Today I stand in recognition of the courage that Miep Gies had in risking her own life to shelter and provide for the Frank family while they were in hiding from the Nazis. The love and selflessness that Miep Gies showed in sheltering her friends from the hatred and persecution of Nazi Germany should be an example to us all. I would also like to commend Miep Gies for recovering and preserving the diary of Anne Frank through the end of World War II. Because of the thoughtfulness of Miep Gies, the Diary of Anne Frank now serves as both an inspiration as well as an example to millions of people around the world. It is important that we never forget the horrible actions that took place during the Holocaust. It is also important that we never forget the courageous and noble acts of people all across Europe in the fight against the Nazi regime as well as those who assisted persecuted groups during those terrible times. Furthermore, I would also like to urge countries and leaders across the world to reassess their efforts in fighting racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism. Through providing education and instruction to adults and children alike, we can help to ensure that what happened in Europe during the Holocaust is never allowed to happen again. I ask my colleagues for their support of this legislation as well as their support for those who protect defenseless people across the world. I strongly urge you to support this resolution. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 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. McMahon) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1074. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. ____________________