[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6487]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               PASSING OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR LEO BRETHOLZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 29, 2014

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
commemorate the extraordinary life of Leo Bretholz, a Holocaust 
survivor who passed away in his home on March 8, 2014, at the age of 
93. Leo is survived by three children, Myron Bretholz of Phoenix, Md., 
Denise Harris of Ellicott City, Md., and Edie Norton of Herndon, Va.; a 
half-sister; and four grandchildren. He was married for 57 years to 
Florine Cohen, who passed away in 2009.
  He was beloved by the Baltimore community who recognized him as a 
courageous and inspiring individual. He worked for many years as a 
salesman and later managed bookstores. When Leo retired, he spent his 
life visiting schools and speaking with people from many diverse 
backgrounds.
  His work with schoolchildren and the positive impact he had on them 
was depicted in the documentary, ``See You Soon Again,'' which preceded 
his memoir ``Leap into Darkness: Seven Years on the Run in Wartime 
Europe'' that he produced with journalist Michael Oleskor. Students 
described him as a ``true inspiration'' who ``never stopped teaching or 
trying to make a difference in the lives of his students and friends.''
  Leo dedicated his life to fighting for justice for all victims of the 
Holocaust. One of Leo's great causes was the pursuit of reparations for 
U.S. Holocaust survivors from the Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer 
Francais (SNCF), the state-owned French railway.
  Between March 1942 and August 1944, SNCF carried 76,000 people to 
Nazi camps, including Leo. But, out of the 1,000 people on the SNCF 
train car, Leo managed to be one of only five people who successfully 
escaped.
  Leo frequently recounted the incredible story of his journey from 
Austria to France in this train car, when he and a friend forced open 
the bars of a cattle car to escape the Auschwitz-bound train. Ever 
since, Leo has been active in telling his story and fighting for 
justice through educating schoolchildren, lawmakers, and the general 
public.
  Leo often gave the account of an elderly woman also on the train who 
told him, ``If you get out, maybe you can tell the story. Who else will 
tell the story?'' This encounter and his successful escape led him to 
speak out against unjust laws in his memoir that recounts his 
experience and successful escape.
  In 2011, I testified with Leo in front of the United States House 
Foreign Relations Committee, about the need for long-overdue 
reparations for Holocaust survivors from SNCF.
  I am proud and honored to have worked with Leo. He truly was a hero. 
It was his strong energetic force that has truly helped move forward 
the Holocaust Rail Justice Act, legislation that would provide 
reparations for hundreds of known survivors, veterans, and their family 
members living in the United States today who for the past 10 years 
sought legal action to hold SNCF accountable.
  As we remember Leo's life and legacy, it is important to continue his 
fight for justice. I will continue to work on this issue with the same 
vigor Leo had, to give Holocaust survivors a deserved day in court and 
finally hold SNCF accountable for its wartime injustices. Leo's passing 
is an unfortunate reminder that the number of Holocaust survivors left 
in the world continues to dwindle. His incredible story is an 
inspiration to me and anyone who hears it, and I know that his life and 
legacy will never be forgotten.

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