E 926 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks May 2, 1995

would be back within a week. Alas, he never

returned.

According to reliable witnesses,

Wallenberg and his driver were arrested and

taken to Moscow, where they were thrown

into prison. At first, the Soviet authorities

maintained that Wallenberg had been taken

into custody by the Red Army and that he

was under their protection. However, nothing more was heard of him until 1947, when

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Vyshinsky,

in answer to repeated Swedish inquiries,

stated that he was not in the Soviet Union

and his whereabouts were unknown to them.

That was a blatant lie. Soviet prisoners of

war, chiefly German, who were released in

the early 1950s confirmed that Wallenberg

had indeed been captured and imprisoned in

Moscow, first in the dreaded Lubyanka and

then in Lefortovskyaya prison. The Swedish

Government intensified their inquiries, only

to be told by the Soviet authorities that

they had nothing to add to what they had

said on the subject back in 1947.

Again, during a visit to Moscow in 1956, the

Swedish Prime Minister raised the matter

with the Soviet leadership. He produced irrefutable evidence that Wallenberg had been

imprisoned by the Soviets. The Soviet answer to this was not given until the following year—in the form of a note from the Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to the

Swedish Ambassador in Moscow. In that

note—to which the Soviet Government have

unfailingly referred every time there have

been inquiries from the West—it was stated

that, as a result of a thorough investigation

by the Soviet authorities, it had been discovered that a prisoner named ‘‘Walenberg’’—

with one ‘‘l’’, which is the Lithuanian spelling of the name—had in fact died from a

heart attack in 1947 in Lubyanka. It was also

asserted that all the documents pertaining

to his case had disappeared and that there

was only a handwritten report about his

death made by the head of the prison hospital service, one A.L. Smoltsov, who had

since died. It seems that Smoltsov had informed the Minister for State Security,

Abakumov, who himself was later to be executed in the purges of the Security Police,

that Wallenberg was dead. Abakumov, of

course, was a convenient person to blame for

having misled the Soviet Foreign Ministry

in the first place. There was lie after lie, deception after deception.

I must tell noble Lords that the Swedish

Government have never accepted—and as far

as I am aware, no Western government has

accepted—the Soviet line that Wallenberg

died in 1947. Why should I say that? The answer is that there is abundant evidence that

he was alive after that date.

Further evidence did come to light in later

years indicating that Wallenberg was alive

but imprisoned in the Soviet Union. Indeed

the great Russian historian Solzhenitsyn has

testified that he met a Swede fitting

Wallenberg’s description during his own imprisonment.

Is it possible then that Raoul Wallenberg

could still be alive? Well, it is not impossible. If he were alive today, he would be just

two years older than myself. Spartan conditions have on occasions—many a doctor can

testify to this—proved beneficial to a long

life. Incredible though it may sound, during

his research for the BBC’s brilliant ‘‘Man

Alive’’ documentary on Wallenberg, John

Bierman met a Russian Jew, Leonid Berger,

who was allowed to emigrate in 1978 after

spending no fewer that 35 years in Soviet

jails.

It is my duty to draw your Lordships’ attention to rumours being circulated that the

family of Raoul Wallenberg now accepts that

he is no longer alive. There is no truth in

this. Indeed, contact has been made with

United States Congressman Tom Lantos,

who was himself rescued from death by

Wallenberg and is the only survivor of the

Holocaust to be elected to the United States

Congress. The Congressman’s office contacted Nina Lagergren, Wallenberg’s half-sister, and she has categorically denied that

any member of the Wallenberg family concedes that he is dead. I am happy to take

this opportunity of paying a tribute to Congressman Lantos, who has kept Wallenberg’s

name alive both inside and outside the United States Congress and was also responsible

for him being granted honorary American

citizenship.

It is now generally accepted that during

his stay in Hungary, Wallenberg saved 100,000

lives. We should never, never, never, never

forget this. May I humbly suggest that we

should honour this brave man by following

the example already provided by our American friends and allies by making him an

honorary British citizen? In an almost poetic

sense, honorary citizenship is uniquely appropriate to Wallenberg quite simply because he used the privilege of Swedish citizenship to save thousands of innocent lives.

Indeed, conferring citizenship—the instrument Wallenberg exercised with so much

courage, generosity and imagination—accounts not only for the fact that thousands

who were granted Swedish citizenship by

him are still alive today and have children

and grandchildren, but also for the fact that,

following his example, other countries which

were neutrals in the war—Portugal, Spain,

Switzerland, and the Vatican—granted citizenship as a means of saving Jewish lives.

Why then even after all these years should

we in Britain honour Wallenberg’s name in

this way? The answer is that, with no

thought for his own safety, in what has been

called ‘‘the slaughterhouse that was Budapest’’, he accomplished the impossible.

Sometimes alone, sometimes with others, he

thwarted the designs of the most murderous

regime the civilised world has ever seen. He

bribed the unspeakable Nazis; he charmed

them on occasions; he lied to them; he certainly threatened and bullied them; and used

every other means he could devise to save

the lives of the Budapest Jews. He was a

Swedish diplomat. He had some authority.

He even entered the deportation trains himself to pull of innocent human beings who

would otherwise have gone to a cruel death.

He worked incessantly, at great personal

risk with utter disregard for his own safety,

and through the sheer force of his example

inspired hundreds of others to assist him.

At the end, when the Red Army entered

Budapest, and what little remained of Nazi

rule collapsed into anarchy, Wallenberg

worked on tirelessly. He told a Swedish diplomat who urged him to seek cover in the

Swedish Legation:

‘‘For me there is no choice . . . I’d never

be able to go back to Stockholm without

knowing inside myself that I’d done all a

man could do to save as many Jews as possible.’’

So it is that we remember Wallenberg because he has become more than a hero of our

times. He symbolises the central conflict of

our age, the determination to remain

human, caring and free in the face of unspeakable tyranny. What Wallenberg represented in Budapest was nothing less than

the conscience of the civilised world. By abducting and imprisoning him, the Soviet authorities did more than violate the longstanding rules of diplomacy accepted by

civilised nations and their govenrments,

they demonstrated contempt for everything

his dedication and bravery in Budapest had

achieved.

Yet even the Soviet Union of those days

did not succeed in suppressing his achievements. Just as the Nazis could not keep him

from his mission, so the Soviets failed to obliterate his legacy.

All mankind owes a great debt to this man,

not only for the 100,000 lives he saved, but

also for the example he gave us as to how

one man with courage to care, even in history’s darkest hour, can become a beacon of

light and can make a difference.

There are two very good reasons for remembering this courageous man. First, because as the author of Milan Kundera observes, ‘‘The struggle of man against power

is the struggle of memory against forgetting.’’ Secondly, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, the world may little note nor long remember what we say here, but surely it will

always remember what Raoul Wallenberg did

to salvage the dignity of the human spirit

from what was a hell on earth. It is a great

honour to pay tribute to him this afternoon.

THE PASSAIC SEMI-PRO LEAGUE

fHON. WILLIAM J. MARTINI OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

Mr. MARTINI. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing

so truly American as the game of baseball. It,

like Spring itself, returns each year to capture

the imagination of millions as our true national

pastime.

We in the Eighth Congressional District of

New Jersey have indeed been fortunate to

have enjoyed a rich baseball tradition for decades, one that has been carried forth by a

high level of competition that has come to

characterize the Passaic County Semi-Pro

League. On Friday, May 5, 1995, that tradition

will again be celebrated with the tenth annual

salute to Passaic semi-pro baseball at the

Athenia Veterans Hall in Clifton, N.J. Hosted

by the dinner committee of Ted Lublanecki,

Jr., Ben Lublanecki, Jean Lublanecki, and

Mike Ivanish, I am sure this celebration will

be, as usual, a great success fitting of the

honorees’ accomplishments.

This year’s event is made truly special by

the highlighting of the careers of men who

brought honor to themselves, their teams, and

the Passaic Semi-Pro League. The honored

group includes Raymond Tkacz, Donald J.

Patlen, Gasper Pellegrino, and Jack Kelsall.

For the benefit of you and our colleagues, I

would like to note some of the accomplishment of these outstanding gentlemen:

Ray Tkacz is the youngest of the honorees

this year. He started his baseball career with

Wallington High School. After graduation, he

moved onto local semi-pro teams such as the

Wallington Hillsides, the Wallington

Demchaks, and the Garfield Benignos. Not

only was Ray a good team player, but he was

a great coach, and he volunteered his time

helping many teams achieve greatness. Ray

coached in both the Wallington Little League

and Babe Ruth League, American Legion Post

347, and Clifton Junior and Senior High

School. His persistence and dedication led

Passaic County High School and Bergen

County American Legion Championships. On

and off the field, Ray has always demonstrated the qualities of a winner. Already an

inductee of the Bergen County Baseball Hall

of Fame, Ray currently resides in Wallington

where he continues his active interest in the

sport.
May 2, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 927

Donald J. Patlen was a fine all-around player whose career lasted from 1948–1960. He

earned two varsity letters for Passaic High

School, and graduated from Farleigh Dickinson University in 1955 with a degree in Business Administration and six varsity letters: four

in baseball and two in basketball. His career

average at FDU was .350, and he was a Second Team All-East selection.

Donald started playing semi-pro baseball in

Passaic, playing for the Drazins, the Bisons,

the Demuro Comets, and the Uncle Sams, before joining one of the best teams in the North

Jersey League, the Haledon Granetell Giants.

With Donald’s help, the Granetell Giants were

able to win both the North Jersey and the

Essex County League titles in the same year,

and then went on to win the Tournament of

Champions.

After graduation in 1955, Donald signed with

another Giants club, this one of the National

League. He went to spring training in 1956

and played with the likes of Willie McCovey,

Orlando Cepeda, and Juan Marichal. Playing

in Danville, VA, and St. Cloud, MN, Donald

was batting .300 and playing centerfield regularly when he was called upon to serve his

country in the U.S. Army. His time in the service did not stop him from playing ball, however, as Donald joined the Fort Knox, KY, and

Italy baseball teams for the 1956 and 1957

seasons.

After returning home from the Army, he

went to spring training again in 1958, being

assigned to Corpus Christi, TX. Unfortunately,

he was injured 3 weeks into the season and

retired from professional baseball. Donald

played for 2 more years with the semipro Clifton Dodgers, then stopped playing all together. Like Ray Tkacz, Donald is also a

member of the Bergen County Hall of Fame.

Gasper Pellegrino played from 1947 to

1956. A Navy veteran, Gasper attended East

Rutherford High School. After graduating, he

tried to follow in the footsteps of the greats of

his era: DiMaggio, Gehrig, and Ruth. Tryouts

with the New York Giants and the St. Louis

Cardinals proved unsuccessful, but Gasper

continued his career with the Carlstadt Pros,

the Passaic Kenyons, the Garfield Nationals,

the Uncle Sams, and the Passaic Demuro

Comets, helping the Demuro Comets to become one of the best teams of the day. Gasper is a retired letter carrier and lives in West

Paterson, NJ.

Jack ‘‘Rabbit’’ Kelsall was a three-sport star

at Garfield High School. A second baseman

for the baseball team, Jack was the captain

for his senior year, 1948, and was selected to

the All-State, All-Bergen, and All-Passaic Valley Conference first teams. He went on to play

at Stevens Institute of Technology, earning

four varsity letters and again becoming captain

during his senior year of 1952. Upon graduation Jack was offered a professional contract

by the Detroit Tigers, but opted instead for a

career in engineering.

Jack’s semipro baseball career began in

1946 with the Garfield Jewells A.C. From 1946

to 1955, Jack played for the Garfield

Benignos, the Paterson Chevy Red Sox, Passaic Maple Leafs, Bergen Bengals, and the

Garfield Bucs, often played 6 or 7 days a

week for many years. While his love of playing

ball kept him active as a shortstop in a softball

league well into his fifties, Jack is now retired,

living in Matawan, NJ, where he coached Little

League and Babe Ruth teams for 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, each of these individuals,

through their countless and diverse contributions to the game of baseball have enriched

the heritage of our great game not just in Passaic County, but wherever it is played throughout the world. I ask that you and my colleagues join me in honoring these gentlemen

during the 10th annual salute to Passaic

semipro baseball.

TRIBUTE TO SENATOR GONZALO

BARRIENTOS

f

HON. RONALD D. COLEMAN OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker and Members,

I rise today to pay tribute to my friend and

former colleague from the Texas State Legislature, Senator Gonzalo Barrientos of Travis

County. He will be honored this week at the

Texas State Capitol as Texas Governor for a

Day. This is a ceremonial honor bestowed on

a Texas Senator every 2 years in recognition

for his or her service to the State.

Senator Barrientos represents senatorial

District 14, encompassing parts of Travis and

Hays Counties, which includes the capital of

Austin. He serves as chairman of the committee of the whole senate on legislative and congressional redistricting and a member of the

senate committees on education, finance,

nominations and natural resources. He was

elected as senate president pro tempore for

the current legislative session. He also chairs

the Austin transportation study policy and advisory committee.

Senator Barrientos has always enjoyed and

rightly deserves a reputation as an activist legislator with an impressive record of accomplishments. He is a 20-year veteran of the

State legislature, having served in the Texas

House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985

before his current tenure in the Texas Senate.

Notable among his accomplishments are

legislative initiatives relating to elder abuse

and high school dropouts. He has championed

various issues during his career, including civil

and constitutional rights, consumers and tenants’ rights, environmental protection, benefits

for State employees, efficiency in State government, education reform, health care, affordable housing, and historic preservation.

Prior to his first election, Gonzalo worked as

an organizer for the National Urban League;

as a program officer for VISTA/Peace Corps;

and as a trainer for the Leadership Institute for

Community Development in Washington, DC.

His background with community organizations

has contributed to his sensitivity toward the

disenfranchised and powerless, and reflects

his working class upbringing in central Texas.

He greatly values his Mexican-American

heritage, and uses his position in the Texas

Senate to be an advocate for women, the disabled, and all people of color. His work has

benefited Hispanics across the country.

Senator Barrientos is the recipient of many

awards, including the Texas Public Employees

Association Outstanding Legislator of the

Year; the Texas Outstanding Public Servants

Award; the Texas Association of Community

Development Award of Outstanding Contributor to Community Development, and the Texas

Rehabilitation Association’s Legislative Excellence Award.

He is a graduate of the University of Texas

at Austin. The university continues to be a

major force of his work because it is one of

his largest constituent organizations. He is

proud of his associations with its faculty, students, and the many young people enrolled in

public and private schools in the Austin/San

Marcos area.

Gonzalo is married to Emma Serrato of Galveston, and they are the parents of five children. He is a devoted husband and father,

and is a role model for people across the

State.

I am proud to be among Senator Gonzalo

Barrientos’ many friends. I invite my colleagues in the U.S. Congress to join me in

honoring this true Texas hero.

NATIONAL PROPANE SAFETY

fWEEK

HON. W.J. (BILLY) TAUZIN OF LOUISIANA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to

bring to the attention of my colleagues the fact

that for over 70 years, the propane gas industry has been making significant contributions

to American life with remarkable degrees of

dependability, efficiency, and above all safety.

To highlight the industry’s sincere concern

with safety, the National Propane Gas Association sponsors National Propane Safety

Week, which is being held this year from May

1–5. The Safety Awareness Week will include

safety demonstrations and anti-tampering

messages as well as helpful tips on using gas

grills, handling cylinders for recreational vehicles, what to do if a homeowner smells gas,

and how to handle a pilot light that won’t light.

All across the country, manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors regularly help in educating the over 60 million consumers of propane on the sage use of this gas. Consumers

use this common fuel to heat their homes, and

barns, dry their crops, and fuel their vehicles

and machinery. National Propane Safety

Week will play an important role in reinforcing

the safety education of those who already

have access to this pertinent information, as

well as in making it available to those who do

not.

A home safety audit, called Gas Check, is

another initiative strongly recommended by the

National Propane Gas Association throughout

Safety Week. Celebrating its 10th anniversary

this year, Gas Check stresses consumer

education, and after a thorough examination of

operation of propane appliances. This kind of

attention to the safety needs of consumers

should not go unrecognized or unappreciated.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to stress my support for all of the propane dealers in my district who put safety first, and I encourage my

colleagues to do the same. I would also like

to personally commend the National Propane

Gas Association and its constituent dealers for

their efforts to promote public awareness

about propane safety issues through their

sponsorship of and participation in National

Propane Safety Week.