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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 256 Introduced in House (IH)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 256

Honoring Theodor Criveanu for being named by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust 
  Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, as Righteous Among the 
    Nations for his heroic efforts to save Romanian Jews during the 
                               Holocaust.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 2007

Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Ms. Linda 
 T. Sanchez of California, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
Linder, Mr. Kirk, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Gonzalez, and Mr. Wexler) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Honoring Theodor Criveanu for being named by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust 
  Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, as Righteous Among the 
    Nations for his heroic efforts to save Romanian Jews during the 
                               Holocaust.

Whereas 6,000,000 European Jews and other targeted groups were killed by German 
        Nazis and their collaborators during World War II;
Whereas approximately 60,000 Jews were murdered in Bessarabia, Romania and 
        Bukovina, Romania by Romanian and German military units, assisted by the 
        local police and residents, and the Jews remaining in those towns were 
        forced over the river to the Transnistria region, where approximately 
        120,000 Jews perished;
Whereas according to the Elie Wiesel Commission that submitted its report to the 
        President of Romania in 2004, it is estimated that between 280,000 and 
        380,000 Jews were murdered by the Romanians during the Holocaust;
Whereas Theodor Criveanu, a lawyer from Brashov, Romania, served as a reserve 
        officer in the Romanian military and was assigned the tasks of 
        presenting military authorities with a list of Jews who would be 
        required to work in the ghetto, instead of being deported to 
        Transnistria, and issuing work permits to individuals on that list;
Whereas Theodor Criveanu defied Nazi orders and secretly issued work permits in 
        numbers that exceeded the work permit quota, and to Jews who were not 
        essential to the workforce, disregarding the dangerous risk such actions 
        posed to his own life;
Whereas the work permits illegally issued by Theodor Criveanu served as a 
        passport to life for many Romanian Jews;
Whereas Theodor Criveanu married Malvina Hefter, the daughter of one of the Jews 
        he saved, and in 1945, they had a son, Ze'ev (Willie) Criveanu;
Whereas in 1988, Theodor Criveanu passed away in Romania;
Whereas in 1963, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance 
        Authority, initiated a worldwide project to grant the title of Righteous 
        Among the Nations to individuals who were not Jewish and who risked 
        their lives to rescue and protect Jews during the Holocaust;
Whereas more than 21,000 gentiles, including 53 Romanians, have been honored as 
        Righteous Among the Nations;
Whereas on August 8, 2007, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' 
        Remembrance Authority, named Theodore Criveanu as Righteous Among the 
        Nations, posthumously honoring him for his courageous work to block the 
        deportation of Romanian Jews to Nazi death camps;
Whereas at the ceremony to name Theodor Criveanu as Righteous Among the Nations, 
        his son, Willie Criveanu, stated ``My father's life was based on 
        justness, correctness. He was a great humanitarian, that was his nature 
        ... . He was a gift from God for my mother's family and to so many 
        more'';
Whereas the Holocaust is the greatest tragedy of the Jewish people and the most 
        extreme act of anti-Semitism in history;
Whereas some individuals still seek to deny the greatest tragedy of the Jewish 
        people, demonstrating the need for the 2,000-year old fight against 
        anti-Semitism to continue;
Whereas there has been a reemergence of anti-Semitism in recent years around the 
        globe, and hate speech, neo-Nazi activities, and targeted violence 
        against Jews and their institutions are becoming increasingly 
        commonplace; and
Whereas Theodor Criveanu and other righteous gentiles deserve recognition and 
        honor for their selfless acts to save innocent lives: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) honors and memorializes Theodor Criveanu for his 
        compassion and brave efforts to rescue innocent people who were 
        being persecuted, and for being named by Yad Vashem, the 
        Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, as 
        Righteous Among the Nations for his heroic efforts to save 
        Romanian Jews during the Holocaust; and
            (2) promotes education to further the understanding and 
        preservation of the legacy of the rescue acts of the righteous 
        gentiles who risked their lives to save innocent Jews, with 
        hopes that, by remembering and revering their heroic acts, 
        future generations will be inspired by their deeds.
                                 <all>
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