Congress Passes ‘Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act’; Bill Goes to President for Signing

by Project Legacy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress passed the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act, with unanimous support. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) in January 2023.

Spearheaded by Project Legacy, founded by Ezra Friedlander, CEO of The Friedlander Group, this Congressional effort is chaired by noted Jewish leader Abraham Foxman, the National Director Emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and entrepreneur Art Reidel. Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, an expert on the subject on rescue during the Shoah, acted as Academic Advisor.

The bill will now go to the President’s desk and is awaiting his signature.

This act of Congress awards the Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats from around the world who, through various means, saved the lives of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. 

These diplomats used every means at their disposal to help Jews fleeing persecution. One of the most powerful tools the diplomats had was the issuing of passports and travel visas contrary to the instruction of the governments of the diplomats. This process alone was responsible for saving hundreds of thousands of Jewish families in Europe. They were able to set up safehouses and getaways to hide Jews and especially Jewish children from Nazi authorities. In the most dangerous of times, several of these diplomats confronted the Nazis directly on behalf of the Jews and personally put themselves in grave danger.

Chair of the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Committee, Abraham Foxman encapsulated the significance of the legislative effort with a moving statement:

• “I decided a long time ago not to be a witness to the evil, to the brutality that men are capable of. I decided to bear witness to goodness, to decency, to compassion, to humanity, to my nanny Bronislawa Kurpi, and to all others who have made a colossal difference in that they saved lives- Jewish lives. And that’s why I am here today and that’s what hopefully you’re here to celebrate, to honor, to embrace, to thank those diplomats who risked their careers, their reputations, their pensions, and maybe their freedoms to save Jews, thousands of Jews….. as a child survivor who never had the chance to say thank you to my Polish Catholic nanny.”

• “I believe that in today’s world it may be more important to celebrate goodness and human decency than to just condemn evil. We must teach future generations not only about the evil that man inflicted on man but also the courage and heroism of a small number of decent, moral public servants- diplomats who frequently violated their own countries’ rules in order to save Jews,” said Art Reidel, the co-chair of the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Committee.

• “As U.S. Senator and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, I applaud passage of this bipartisan legislation to posthumously honor U.S. and foreign diplomats who risked their lives and careers to assist Jews who were fleeing Nazi tyranny during the Holocaust,” said Senator Hagerty. “During a time of unimaginable darkness in the world, these diplomats went above their official obligations and beyond the call of duty to save the lives of so many. Current and future generations of diplomats-and everyone else who hears their stories-can look to these men and women of courage and be inspired by their lives of heroism and sacrifice.”

• “These courageous diplomats from nations across the world took initiative and serious risks to save Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Congressional Gold Medal is a small overdue gesture to honor righteous deeds in the most difficult times,” said Senator Kaine. “As living memory of the Holocaust fades with the passing of 80 years, it will soon be up to us to remember humanity’s capacity for evil alongside our capacity for empathy and courage. Senator Hagerty and I aren’t Jewish, but we led this legislation because the duty of remembrance isn’t on the Jewish community alone; it is on all of us.”

• “Honoring the heroes of the past helps us acknowledge the Holocaust as a real event and serves as a chilling reminder of the devastating consequences of silence in the face of intolerance,” said Representative Salazar. “By passing this legislation, we will honor the memory of these heroes. We will preserve the truth of the Holocaust for current and future generations. We will continue to fight antisemitism in all its forms today. And we will help ensure the American people never forget what happened.”

• “These diplomats risked their careers and their lives to help Jewish people flee Nazi persecution and the brutality of concentration camps,” said Representative Torres. “I’m proud to be working in a bipartisan fashion and pass this measure to help honor those brave few souls who saved thousands of lives with a Congressional Gold Medal.”

I applaud the House of Representatives for passing our legislation to honor unsung heroes of the Holocaust. I look forward to the President signing this bill into law. https://t.co/YVmMwOePjx

— Senator Bill Hagerty (@SenatorHagerty) December 5, 2024

The list of diplomats honored posthumously in this legislation include: Per Anger (Sweden); Jose Maria Barreto (Peru); Lars Berg (Sweden); Philippe Bernardini (Vatican / Italy); Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV (United States); Friedrich Born (Switzerland); Manuel Antonio Muñoz Borrero (Ecuador); Carlos de Liz-Texeira Branquinho (Portugal); Eduardo Propper de Callejón (Spain); Samuel del Campo (Chile); Aracy Moebius Carvalho de Guimarães Rosa (Brazil); José Arturo Castellanos (El Salvador); Carl Ivan Danielsson (Sweden); Luis Martins de Souza Dantas (Brazil); Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz (Germany); Harald Feller (Switzerland); Francis (Frank) Foley (United Kingdom); Jean Edouard Friedrich (Switzerland); Carlos Almeida Afonseca de Sampaio Garrido (Portugal); Raymond Herman Geist (United States); Feng-Shan Ho (China); Constantin Karadja (Romania); Alexander Kasser (Sándor Kasza) (Sweden / Hungary); Elow Kihlgren (Sweden); Joseph Willem (Joop) Kolkman (Netherlands); Julius Kühl (Switzerland); Aleksander Ładoś (Poland); Valdemar Langlet (Sweden); Charles (Carl) Lutz (Switzerland); George Mandel–Mantello (El Salvador); Florian Manolio (Romania); Aristides de Sousa Mendes (Portugal); Salomon Jacob (Sally) Noach (Netherlands); Giorgio (Jorge) Perlasca (Spain / Italy); Ernst Prodolliet (Switzerland); Franjo Punčuch (Yugoslavia / Slovenia); Sebastián de Romero Radigales (Spain); Konstanty Rokicki (Poland); Angelo Giuseppe; Roncalli (Vatican / Italy); Angelo Rotta (Vatican / Italy); Albert Emile Routier (Turkey); Stefan Ryniewicz (Poland); Gilberto Bosques Saldívar (Mexico); José Ruiz Santaella (Spain); Ángel Sanz Briz (Spain); Abdol–Hossein Sardari (Iran); Henryk Slawik (Poland); Robert Smallbones (United Kingdom); Ján Spišiak (Slovakia); Chiune (Sempo) Sugihara (Japan); Ireanaeus Typaldos (Spain), Alexander (Sándor) Újváry (Vatican / Hungary); Selahattin Ülkümen (Turkey); Gennaro Verolino (Vatican / Italy); Vladimír Vochoč (Czech Republic); Ernst Vonrufs (Switzerland); Raoul Wallenberg (Sweden); Guelfo Zamboni (Italy); Peter Zürcher (Switzerland); and Jan Zwartendijk (Holland).