Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017 (sic)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as the proud sponsor of the Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017, which will award a Congressional Gold Medal to the rabbi for his acts of valor during World War II.

Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl was born in Hungary in 1903. In 1931 he moved to Slovakia and quickly became a senior figure within the local Jewish community and Yeshiva.

As fascism spread across Europe in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Rabbi Weissmandl led some of the most daring efforts to save the Jewish people of Slovakia from the Holocaust.

When the Nazis, aided by members of the puppet government in Slovakia, began to move against the Slovak Jews in 1942, Rabbi Weissmandl became a key member of the Bratislava Working Group. This underground organization was comprised of a wide variety of people from different political and ideological spectrums, but united by a common goal: to protect the Jewish people of Europe from Hitler's Final Solution.

In his role as a member of the Working Group, Rabbi Weissmandl worked to raise funds to negotiate ransom with German and Slovakian officials in order to delay mass deportations. We cannot understate the dangers the rabbi undertook in this endeavor.

Had he approached the wrong official or an unyielding Hitler supporter, he most certainly would have put his own life in jeopardy. Despite that peril, he persevered, demonstrating an unyielding determination to stop the slaughter of the innocent.

Using his contacts in England, Rabbi Weissmandl also worked to secure British visas for more than 60 European rabbis after the annexation of Austria, becoming one of the first individuals to protect European Jews by arranging for their escape to England.

The Working Group was also one of the first to record the accounts of Auschwitz escapees in a document widely referred to as the Auschwitz Protocols. Weissmandl later translated the initial documentation from German to Hebrew and included an addendum that pleaded for further action.

He also wrote the first known appeal for the use of Allied air power to disrupt the Holocaust, including the use of aerial bombs to destroy the rail lines and tunnels leading to Auschwitz.

During one of the darkest periods in human history, Rabbi Weissmandl's efforts to protect the lives of European Jews at the risk of his own life reflect true heroism in the face of unspeakable evil.

We must never forget these contributions, and it is fitting that we honor his legacy by awarding a Congressional Gold Medal in his name.

Mr. Speaker, at a time of unparalleled evil, Rabbi Weissmandl took extraordinary risks to save the lives of Slovakian Jews. To this day, his influence can be felt throughout the Jewish community, not only here in the United States, but around the world.

It is with the utmost respect and honor that I have introduced this bill to award Rabbi Weissmandl with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, Representative Brian Mast, for introducing this bill with me and his work to advance this legislation. I also want to thank my 295 other colleagues who have cosponsored the bill. I strongly urge passage of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2740) to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in recognition of his acts of valor during World War II.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2740, the Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2017, introduced on April 25, 2017, by our colleague, Representative Nydia Velazquez, cosponsored by Representative Mast of Florida.

The bill authorizes the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the Jewish rabbi for his acts of valor during World War II to save many Jewish people from Slovakia from persecution, the atrocities and the Holocaust committed by the Nazis during the Second World War.

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Weissmandl's life story is uplifting and his actions are inspiring. This Gold Medal is an overdue honor and is supported by 296 Members of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I urge its immediate passage, and I want to thank Chairman Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, Representative Velazquez, and Representative Mast for their leadership on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of a man whose heroic legacy must never be forgotten.

At a time when the stakes could not have been higher, Rabbi Weissmandl risked everything to save the Jewish people of Slovakia from the horrors of the Nazi regime. Forming an underground organization called the Working Group, Weissmandl led an effort to bribe German officials, ultimately succeeding to delay mass deportations.

We cannot emphasize enough the great personal risk Rabbi Weissmandl took on. Had he bribed the wrong official or approached a Hitler supporter, he would have been killed. Yet, despite that real danger, he persevered and demonstrated an unyielding determination to stop the slaughter of the innocent.

In 1945, Weissmandl reached the shores of America, ultimately settling in New York. Even after the war, he worked to improve Holocaust survivors' lives by establishing the first Yeshiva campus in America.

Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Weissmandl is truly a hero. At great personal risk during the darkest of times, he helped those who were desperate. It is only appropriate we honor him with the highest civilian honor, a Congressional Gold Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Weissmandl's legacy by cosponsoring H.R. 2740.