[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2278-2279]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO GERDA WEISSMAN KLEIN

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Gerda Weissman Klein, 
Holocaust survivor and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  We tell ourselves never to forget, and we implore our children to do 
the same. But we cannot do it alone.
  We need to listen to those who remember not by choice, but because 
they can never forget what they saw and what they survived.
  With each passing year, fewer and fewer of these witnesses remain. 
Even fewer of them speak English, or live in America, where we can hear 
their stories first hand. And fewer still are like Gerda Weissman 
Klein.

[[Page 2279]]

  About a year and a half ago, Mrs. Klein and her son visited my 
office. I invited Senators Levin and Cardin to join me. I will always 
remember one observation she offered.
  I remember it because she didn't say it as though she were teaching a 
profound lesson, though it was profound. She didn't say it as though it 
was the most important message she came to deliver, but it has stayed 
with me to this day. She said it, incredibly, as an off-hand comment 
while we were just chatting.
  Mrs. Klein said this: ``Surviving is an incredible privilege, but it 
is also a very deep responsibility.''
  It was beyond humbling--that someone could see what she saw and lose 
what she lost and endure what she endured, and still maintain such 
perspective, and feel such responsibility.
  Mrs. Klein continues to fulfill what she sees as her responsibility, 
sharing her story and teaching us about tolerance. That's why we 
fulfilled our responsibility to her--by recognizing her with highest 
honor our country can give civilians, the Presidential Medal of 
Freedom.
  But more than that, we fulfill our responsibility by thanking her, by 
appreciating her and by listening to her--so that we will never forget 
what she cannot forget.

                          ____________________