IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 537 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 12, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The following diplomats will be honored 

7 posthumously: Per Anger (Sweden), Jose Maria 

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

9 Bernardini (Vatican / Italy), Hiram (Harry) Bing10 ham IV (United States), Friedrich Born (Switzer11 land), Manuel Antonio Mun ̃oz Borrero (Ecuador), 

12 Carlos de Liz-Texeira Branquinho (Portugal), 

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

14 Campo (Chile), Aracy Moebius Carvalho de 

15 Guimara ̃es Rosa (Brazil), Jose ́ Arturo Castellanos 

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

17 Martins de Souza Dantas (Brazil), Georg Ferdinand 

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

19 Francis (Frank) Foley (United Kingdom), Jean20 Edouard Friedrich (Switzerland), Carlos Almeida 

21 Afonseca de Sampaio Garrido (Portugal), Raymond 

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

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

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

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

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


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1 Aleksander 4ados ́ (Poland), Valdemar Langlet (Swe2 den), Charles (Carl) Lutz (Switzerland), George 

3 Mandel-Mantello (El Salvador), Florian Manoliu 

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

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

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

7 (Switzerland), Franjo Puncˇuch (Yugoslavia / Slo8 venia), Sebastia ́n de Romero Radigales (Spain), 

9 Konstanty Rokicki (Poland), Angelo Giuseppe 

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

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

12 Ryniewicz (Poland), Gilberto Bosques Saldı ́var 

13 (Mexico), Jose ́ Ruiz Santaella (Spain), A ́ngel Sanz14 Briz (Spain), Abdol-Hossein Sardari (Iran), Henryk 

15 Slawik (Poland), Robert Smallbones (United King16 dom), Ja ́n Spisˇiak (Slovakia), Chiune (Sempo) 

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

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

19 Selahattin U ̈lku ̈men (Turkey), Gennaro Verolino 

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

21 Ernst Vonrufs (Switzerland), Raoul Wallenberg 

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

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

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

25 the Nazis began their invasion of Europe, which 


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1 started World War II and threw the world into 

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

3 population was in full motion. As battles were being 

4 fought between countries, Jews were being rounded 

5 up and sent to concentration camps throughout Eu6 rope. This process began a mass exodus of people 

7 out of Europe, especially those in the Jewish com8 munity. 

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

10 community used every tool and means at their dis11 posal to flee Nazi tyranny. Thousands tried to flee 

12 on trains or boats to escape from Europe. 

13 (4) While the armies of countries were fighting 

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

15 world, stepped forward and took heroic actions to 

16 save Jews fleeing Europe. This was an incredibly 

17 dangerous process. If the Nazis discovered the ac18 tions of these diplomats they would be expelled, as 

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

20 Nazis, diplomats had to worry about their careers 

21 and livelihoods back home. Many of them had strict 

22 orders from their home countries to not aid the Jew23 ish population in any way. 

24 (5) These diplomats used every means at their 

25 disposal to help Jews fleeing persecution. One of the 


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1 most powerful tools the diplomats had to use was 

2 the issuing of passports and travel visas contrary to 

3 the instruction of the governments of the diplomats. 

4 This process alone is responsible for saving hundreds 

5 of thousands of Jewish families in Europe. This was 

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

7 connected with the local populations and were great 

8 communicators for Jews trying to travel under9 ground. They were able set up safehouses and 

10 getaways to hide Jews and especially Jewish children 

11 from Nazi authorities. In the most dangerous of 

12 times, several of these diplomats confronted the 

13 Nazis directly on behalf of the Jews and personally 

14 put themselves in grave danger. 

15 (6) Every diplomat knew the dangers and knew 

16 what they were up against, and still pushed forward 

17 to save those in the most danger. 

18 (7) The Congressional Gold Medal authorized 

19 under this Act will help remind humanity that when 

20 the diplomats were faced with terrible crises, they 

21 went beyond the fold, including risking their careers 

22 and the lives of themselves and their families, to en23 gage in this humanitarian mission. The diplomats of 

24 today and future generations can look towards these 


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1 heroes and be inspired by their lives of heroism and 

2 sacrifice. 

3 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

4 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

5 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem6 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

8 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the 60 dip9 lomats identified in section 2(1), in recognition of their 

10 brave and vital service of saving Jews during World War 

11 II. 

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

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

14 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec15 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

16 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec17 retary. 

18 (c) PRESENTATION OF MEDAL.—The single gold 

19 medal presented under subsection (a) shall be presented 

20 collectively to the eldest next of kin of each of the 60 dip21 lomats identified in section 2(1), who shall receive the 

22 medal as part of a delegation consisting of a senior official 

23 representative of the country that each diplomat served 

24 and the cochairs of the Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust 

25 Committee. 


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1 (d) UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MU2 SEUM.— 

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

4 gold medal in honor of the 60 diplomats identified 

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

6 United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where 

7 it will be available for display as appropriate and 

8 available for research. 

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

10 Congress that the United States Holocaust Memo11 rial Museum should make the gold medal awarded 

12 pursuant to this Act available for display elsewhere, 

13 particularly at appropriate locations associated with 

14 Holocaust remembrance. 

15 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

16 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

18 sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, mate19 rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

20 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

22 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

23 of title 31, United States Code. 

24 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

25 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 


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1 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

2 items. 

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

4 SALE. 

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

6 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

7 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec8 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

9 this Act. 

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

11 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

12 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

13 Enterprise Fund. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 11, 2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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