I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 537 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats, in recognition of 

their bravery and heroism during the Holocaust. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2023 

Ms. SALAZAR (for herself, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. TENNEY, Mrs. 

BICE, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. GIMENEZ, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. WILSON of 

Florida, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. PHILLIPS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. 

KUSTOFF, and Mr. SCHNEIDER) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to 60 diplomats, in 

recognition of their bravery and heroism during the Holocaust. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Forgotten Heroes of 

5 the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The following diplomats will be honored 

2 posthumously: Per Anger (Sweden), Jose Maria 

3 Barreto (Peru), Lars Berg (Sweden), Philippe 

4 Bernardini (Vatican / Italy), Hiram (Harry) Bing5 ham IV (United States), Friedrich Born (Switzer6 land), Manuel Antonio Mun ̃oz Borrero (Ecuador), 

7 Carlos de Liz-Texeira Branquinho (Portugal), 

8 Eduardo Propper de Callejo ́n (Spain), Samuel del 

9 Campo (Chile), Aracy Moebius Carvalho de 

10 Guimara ̃es Rosa (Brazil), Jose ́ Arturo Castellanos 

11 (El Salvador), Carl Ivan Danielsson (Sweden), Luis 

12 Martins de Souza Dantas (Brazil), Georg Ferdinand 

13 Duckwitz (Germany), Harald Feller (Switzerland), 

14 Francis (Frank) Foley (United Kingdom), Jean15 Edouard Friedrich (Switzerland), Carlos Almeida 

16 Afonseca de Sampaio Garrido (Portugal), Raymond 

17 Herman Geist (United States), Feng-Shan Ho 

18 (China), Constantin Karadja (Romania), Alexander 

19 Kasser (Sa ́ndor Kasza) (Sweden / Hungary), Elow 

20 Kihlgren (Sweden), Joseph Willem (Joop) Kolkman 

21 (Netherlands), Julius Ku ̈hl (Switzerland), 

22 Aleksander 4ados ́ (Poland), Valdemar Langlet (Swe23 den), Charles (Carl) Lutz (Switzerland), George 

24 Mandel-Mantello (El Salvador), Florian Manoliu 

25 (Romania), Aristides de Sousa Mendes (Portugal), 


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1 Salomon Jacob (Sally) Noach (Netherlands), Giorgio 

2 (Jorge) Perlasca (Spain / Italy), Ernst Prodolliet 

3 (Switzerland), Franjo Puncˇuch (Yugoslavia / Slo4 venia), Sebastia ́n de Romero Radigales (Spain), 

5 Konstanty Rokicki (Poland), Angelo Giuseppe 

6 Roncalli (Vatican / Italy), Angelo Rotta (Vatican / 

7 Italy), Albert Emile Routier (Turkey), Stefan 

8 Ryniewicz (Poland), Gilberto Bosques Saldı ́var 

9 (Mexico), Jose ́ Ruiz Santaella (Spain), A ́ngel Sanz10 Briz (Spain), Abdol-Hossein Sardari (Iran), Henryk 

11 Slawik (Poland), Robert Smallbones (United King12 dom), Ja ́n Spisˇiak (Slovakia), Chiune (Sempo) 

13 Sugihara (Japan), Ireanaeus Typaldos (Spain), 

14 Alexander (Sa ́ndor) U ́jva ́ry (Vatican / Hungary), 

15 Selahattin U ̈lku ̈men (Turkey), Gennaro Verolino 

16 (Vatican / Italy), Vladimı ́r Vochocˇ (Czech Republic), 

17 Ernst Vonrufs (Switzerland), Raoul Wallenberg 

18 (Sweden), Guelfo Zamboni (Italy), Peter Zu ̈rcher 

19 (Switzerland), and Jan Zwartendijk (Holland). 

20 (2) On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler and 

21 the Nazis began their invasion of Europe, which 

22 started World War II and threw the world into 

23 chaos. The Nazi plan of mass murder of the Jewish 

24 population was in full motion. As battles were being 

25 fought between countries, Jews were being rounded 


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1 up and sent to concentration camps throughout Eu2 rope. This process began a mass exodus of people 

3 out of Europe, especially those in the Jewish com4 munity. 

5 (3) During the war, members of the Jewish 

6 community used every tool and means at their dis7 posal to flee Nazi tyranny. Thousands tried to flee 

8 on trains or boats to escape from Europe. 

9 (4) While the armies of countries were fighting 

10 each other, a handful of diplomats, from around the 

11 world, stepped forward and took heroic actions to 

12 save Jews fleeing Europe. This was an incredibly 

13 dangerous process. If the Nazis discovered the ac14 tions of these diplomats they would be expelled, as 

15 a few of them were. Also, while worrying about the 

16 Nazis, diplomats had to worry about their careers 

17 and livelihoods back home. Many of them had strict 

18 orders from their home countries to not aid the Jew19 ish population in any way. 

20 (5) These diplomats used every means at their 

21 disposal to help Jews fleeing persecution. One of the 

22 most powerful tools the diplomats had to use was 

23 the issuing of passports and travel visas contrary to 

24 the instruction of the governments of the diplomats. 

25 This process alone is responsible for saving hundreds 


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1 of thousands of Jewish families in Europe. This was 

2 not the only tool used as many of the diplomats were 

3 connected with the local populations and were great 

4 communicators for Jews trying to travel under5 ground. They were able set up safehouses and 

6 getaways to hide Jews and especially Jewish children 

7 from Nazi authorities. In the most dangerous of 

8 times, several of these diplomats confronted the 

9 Nazis directly on behalf of the Jews and personally 

10 put themselves in grave danger. 

11 (6) Every diplomat knew the dangers and knew 

12 what they were up against, and still pushed forward 

13 to save those in the most danger. 

14 (7) The Congressional Gold Medal authorized 

15 under this Act will help remind humanity that when 

16 the diplomats were faced with terrible crises, they 

17 went beyond the fold, including risking their careers 

18 and the lives of themselves and their families, to en19 gage in this humanitarian mission. The diplomats of 

20 today and future generations can look towards these 

21 heroes and be inspired by their lives of heroism and 

22 sacrifice. 

23 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

24 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

25 the House of Representatives and the President pro temVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H537.IH H537

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1 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

2 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 

3 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the 60 dip4 lomats identified in section 2(1), in recognition of their 

5 brave and vital service of saving Jews during World War 

6 II. 

7 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

8 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

9 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec10 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

11 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec12 retary. 

13 (c) PRESENTATION OF MEDAL.—The gold medal pre14 sented under subsection (a) shall be presented to the eld15 est next of kin of each of the 60 diplomats identified in 

16 section 2(1), who shall receive the medal as part of a dele17 gation consisting of a senior official representative of the 

18 country that each diplomat served and the cochairs of the 

19 Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Committee. 

20 (d) UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MU21 SEUM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

23 gold medal in honor of the 60 diplomats identified 

24 in section 2(1), the gold medal shall be given to the 

25 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where 


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1 it will be available for display as appropriate and 

2 available for research. 

3 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

4 Congress that the United States Holocaust Memo5 rial Museum should make the gold medal awarded 

6 pursuant to this Act available for display elsewhere, 

7 particularly at appropriate locations associated with 

8 Holocaust remembrance. 

9 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

11 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 

12 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

13 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

14 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

15 (a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—Medals struck pursuant to 

16 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

17 of title 31, United States Code. 

18 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

19 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

20 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

22 SALE. 

23 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

24 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

25 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Feb 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H537.IH H537

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1 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

4 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

5 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

6 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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