North Miami-Dade News

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 537, the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act, with unanimous support today. The bill was introduced by Representatives María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) in January 2023 and has since garnered the support of nearly 300 Members of Congress.

Representative Salazar emphasized the importance of this legislation amidst rising antisemitism and ongoing conflicts involving Israel. "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 Rep. 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."

Rep. Torres highlighted the risks taken by diplomats to save Jewish lives during World War II. "These diplomats risked their careers and their lives to help Jewish people flee Nazi persecution and the brutality of concentration camps," said Rep. 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."

H.R. 537 would grant the Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats from various countries who saved Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, often at great personal risk by issuing passports and travel visas.

The Senate version is sponsored by Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA).

Diplomats honored posthumously include Per Anger (Sweden), Jose Maria Barreto (Peru), Lars Berg (Sweden), Philippe Bernardini (Vatican/Italy), Hiram 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 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 Kolkman Netherlands, Julius Kühl Switzerland, Aleksander Ładoś Poland, Valdemar Langlet Sweden, Charles Lutz Switzerland, George Mandel-Mantello El Salvador, Florian Manolio Romania, Aristides de Sousa Mendes Portugal, Salomon Jacob Noach Netherlands, Giorgio 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 Sugihara Japan; Ireanaeus Typaldos Spain); Alexander 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); Jan Zwartendijk Holland).

This marks Congresswoman Salazar’s fifth bill passed in this Congress.

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