The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“SUPPORT FOR THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS ACT OF 2007” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H13539-H13542 on Nov. 13, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SUPPORT FOR THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS ACT OF 2007
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3320) to provide assistance for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3320
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Support for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Current and future generations benefit greatly by visible reminders and documentation of the historical and cultural roots of their society.
(2) It is in the national interest of the United States to encourage the preservation and protection of artifacts associated with the heritage of United States citizens who trace their forbearers to other countries and to encourage the collection and dissemination of knowledge about that heritage.
(3) According to the 2000 United States Census, nearly 9,000,000 Americans are of Polish ancestry.
(4) At the beginning of World War II, Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe.
(5) In 1996, Yeshayahu Weinberg, a founding director of Tel Aviv's Diaspora Museum and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, created an international team of experts with the goal of establishing a Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
(6) The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will preserve and present the history of the Jewish people in Poland and the wealth of their culture spanning a period of 1,000 years.
(7) In 1997, the City of Warsaw donated a parcel of land, opposite the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial, for the explicit use for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
(8) In 2005, the Government of Poland and the City of Warsaw agreed to provide 40,000,000 Polish zlotys for the construction of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
(9) In 2005, an international architectural competition selected a Finnish firm to design the building for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
(10) In 2006, the building for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews moved into the last phase of project design.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH
JEWS.
(a) In General.--Assistance provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State shall be made available to assist in the development of the permanent collection of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
(b) Authorization for Assistance.--To carry out the purposes of subsection (a), the Secretary of State is authorized to provide $5,000,000, which shall remain available until expended, to the Museum for the History of Polish Jews.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from American Samoa.
General Leave
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from American Samoa?
There was no objection.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and yield myself such time as I may consume.
First of all, I would like to commend and thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), my good friend and my colleague, for his sponsorship of this important legislation, and I also want to thank the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the gentlewoman from Florida, our senior ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, for their support of this legislation.
This bill that was introduced by my good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey, is a bill that seeks to preserve the cultural heritage of Poland's Jewish population. Mr. Speaker, the history of the Jewish people in Poland dates back over a millennium, when the country initially provided one of Europe's most tolerant homes for the Jewish people and housed one of the world's most vibrant Jewish communities. This tolerance waned from the 17th century onwards, as incidents of political and personal anti-Semitism began to increase.
However, when Poland regained its independence in the early 20th century, its Jewish population remained one of the largest in the world. Indeed, in 1939, over 3 million of the Jewish people lived in Poland, comprising the largest Jewish population of any country in Europe. Mr. Speaker, this situation changed radically when the Nazis occupied Poland, as over 90 percent of Poland's Jewish population was brutally killed or murdered and tortured during the Holocaust. Of the few who survived, around 200,000 people, most emigrated from Poland. Many came to the United States, while others fled to Israel and South America.
Mr. Speaker, estimates of Poland's Jewish population range from 3,500 to 15,000, out of a total population of over 38 million. This dramatically reduced post-war Jewish population has led to some false claims that there were no Jews in Poland. Given the long history of Poland's Jews, combined with the tragic decline of their population during the Holocaust, it is singularly important that steps are taken to preserve and protect their cultural heritage. Indeed, the nearly 9 million Americans who claim Polish lineage will benefit from visible reminders of their forebearers.
Mr. Speaker, for almost over 10 years now, a team of international experts has worked tirelessly to establish a Museum of the History of the Polish Jews for this very purpose. This museum aims to preserve the history and culture of Jewish people in Poland over the last 1,000 years, beginning with their 11th century emigration from Western Europe to escape persecution in their vibrant community between the world wars.
Mr. Speaker, the City of Warsaw and the Polish Government have been active supporters and contributors to this project. In 1997, the city donated the land near the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Memorial on which to construct this new museum. This area is located in Warsaw's former Jewish quarter, which previously housed a thriving community of about 400,000 Jewish people.
Mr. Speaker, in 2005, two years ago, the city and the government donated 40 million zlotys, currently worth about $14.5 million, for the museum's construction. In the year 2005, again, two years ago, a Finnish architectural firm was selected to design the project. In June of this year, Polish authorities broke ground at the site. Construction is expected to take two years, enabling the museum to open by the year 2010.
This bill authorizes U.S. funding to assist in the development of the permanent collection of the museum. This money will ensure the protection of artifacts documenting the heritage of the Jewish Polish people and many of their descendants who currently live in the United States.
Museum organizers have already asked the people of Poland to donate memorabilia to the project, collecting photographs, documents, and other remaining items. One such object includes a penknife provided by a woman whose father, a forced laborer in a Nazi arms factory, obtained from a fellow prisoner who had received it as a bar mitzvah gift. American funding will help these efforts.
I strongly support this bill and ask my colleagues to join me in ensuring the preservation of such a rich cultural legacy.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3320, a measure to provide support for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which was introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), my good friend. This bill would authorize funding to assist in the development of the permanent collection of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
As we all know, the knowledge of history is tremendously important, both to understand our heritage and to our efforts to ensure that mistakes made in the past are avoided now and in the future. The Jewish people have a long and rich history in Poland. In fact, at the beginning of World War II, Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe. Tragically, almost all of that population in Poland was murdered in the Holocaust.
The Polish Government has donated land and has also agreed to provide millions of dollars for construction of the museum. I ask my colleagues to support this bill, which would go on to assist in the development of the museum's collection. The tremendously rich 1,000-year history of the Jewish people in Poland should not be forgotten, Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague Mr. Bilirakis for yielding and Chairman Faleomavaega for his very strong words in support of this legislation; Tom Lantos, the chairman of our committee; and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who were very strong supporters and backers of the bill before us today as well.
Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of World War II, Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe. Over 50 percent of world Jewry has family ties to this pre-war community. Tragically, as a result of the Holocaust, a once thriving community was virtually destroyed.
In 1996, a group of people developed the idea for a museum dedicated to the culture, art and history of Poland's Jews. As one of the founders of the museum told me when I visited Warsaw a couple of years ago, We often learn how Jews died, but rarely how they lived. The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will change this. Indeed, it will solemnly remember the 3 million Polish Jews who died during the Holocaust and World War II, but also it will celebrate the rich 1,000 years of Polish Jewish life.
The interactive museum will allow visitors to view the long history of Jews in Poland in context, examining their lives through nine thematic galleries that illustrate their culture, their accomplishments, and the challenges they faced. The museum will measure 14,000 square feet and incorporate state-of-the-art multimedia installations that showcase the museum's collection, an archive of over 60,000 computer files of images collected from around the world. The nine galleries that house the museum's core exhibition provide 43,000 square feet of space that will be equipped with the latest technology to showcase a variety of multimedia displays. These exhibitions are being developed by a team of scholars, historians and museum experts from Poland, Israel, and the United States.
A crown jewel of the museum and a key element to serving the public will be the 5,400 square-foot state-of-the-art education center that includes a resource center for visitors. Multimedia displays and Web-
based kiosks will share the museum's data base of 60,000 documents and objects with visitors, who will also have access to a reading room as well as a library.
Today, Mr. Speaker, despite the robust efforts of many good people, anti-Semitism remains a dangerous and a growing force in Europe and elsewhere in the world. By looking at the life of Polish Jewry and also documenting the events of the Holocaust, the museum and its educational center will make a major contribution in combating anti-Semitism. A better understanding of the great contributions that Polish Jews have made to society will help fight off the ignorance and the lies that bring about this bigotry.
There is no better time for a living monument to stand against anti-
Semitism than now, and no better place than in the heart of Europe, the place where the Nazis put so many Jews to death. In 1997, the City of Warsaw donated land adjacent to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Monument for the construction of this museum. In June of 2007, authorities broke ground for its construction. It is now slated for opening in 2010, but there still is a significant deficit in funding.
It is one of the first institutions in post-European Poland to be built through a partnership of public and private support. The Government of Poland and the City of Warsaw have each designated some
$15 million for the museum, and a number of private corporations and individuals from Israel, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, of course that includes the United States, have also agreed to contribute. Just yesterday, the Government of Germany signed an agreement to donate over $7 million to the effort. All donors are united in preserving the memory of a magnificent people, who have made such a positive difference, and to combat the rising ugly tide of anti-
Semitism.
As you can imagine, it's a costly and difficult project to assemble artifacts and memorabilia from Polish Jewry. Not only did the Nazis systematically destroy Jewish men, women and children, they sought to erase all memory of a noble people. The Nazis also decimated most of the City of Warsaw. Our contribution of $5 million will be more than just a symbol of American commitment to these principles, although that is important. It will be more than a reminder of the historical ties that bind many descendants of Polish Jews in the United States and elsewhere to Polish Jewry, although that, too, is a worthy goal. This contribution will be an important aid in making this project a reality. It will help bring it to completion.
I urge support for H.R. 3320. As one supporter called this, this is a
``restitution of memory.''
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment and commend my good friend from New Jersey for a most eloquent statement. Whenever he speaks, I listen; not only as a great advocate and champion of human rights throughout the world, but I cannot think of a more appropriate piece of legislation where his mark is made to the fact that the persecutions that took place among the Jewish people during World War II. Again, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his efforts in bringing this piece of legislation to the floor for consideration.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H. Res. 3320, introduced by my friend and colleague, Mr. Smith of New Jersey. This bill would authorize the United States to provide $5 million to assist in the development of the permanent collection of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
This past May, I had the opportunity to travel to Poland and, while there, met with Jerzy Halbersztadt, the director of the museum, and Ewa Wierzynska, the deputy director. The museum they are helping to establish is truly an historical undertaking and one that deserves the support of the United States.
Warsaw was once home to the largest Jewish community in Europe, and if we are to truly understand what was lost in the Holocaust, we must try to wrap our minds not only around the figure of 6 million, but around the 1,000 years of Polish Jewish life that preceded that tragedy. Poland is not only a place where Jews died, but a place where they lived and flourished. Moreover, it is estimated that 80 percent of all Jews and over nine million Americans trace some of their ancestry to the Polish Jewish community. This museum has the potential to touch the lives of our own citizens in deeply personal ways.
As chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I am heartened by the educational role this museum can play in fulfilling the goals that the OSCE participating States have undertaken in the field of combating anti-Semitism. I believe this museum will contribute to tolerance and mutual respect in Poland, will help counter the broader phenomenon of anti-Semitism in Europe, and will serve as an inspiration to the thousands of visitors who will come every year. The historical record of the Polish Jewish community must be preserved and shared with future generations.
Unfortunately, my own schedule did not permit me to return to Poland for the June 26 groundbreaking ceremony for the museum, which will be located in the heart of the pre-World War II Jewish district and next to the monument to the Jews who resisted the Nazis during the 1943 ghetto uprising. However, I did send a member of the Helsinki Commission staff, who witnessed firsthand the extraordinary turnout for this event. Among those present was the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv Meir Lau, whose parents were from Poland and who suggested that invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has denied the Holocaust, be among the first to visit the museum.
I don't know if the Iranian President will accept this invitation, but I have no doubt that many Americans will be among the 500,000 people who are expected to visit the museum on an annual basis. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this extraordinary museum, with an extraordinary mission.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3320.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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