May 11, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S6507 

like everyone else in society is treated, 

give us the opportunities to succeed 

that other Americans are given as a 

matter of birthright, let us participate 

in the mainstream of American life. 

So we have made progress. When in 

the past Jackie Robinson was spit upon 

and received death threats over the 

phone, today Michael Jordan can give 

genuine happiness to millions of Americans, of all creeds and colors, merely 

by deciding to trade in his baseball 

cleats for a pair of sneakers. When one 

of our country’s greatest institutions, 

the U.S. Army, once had to be desegregated by Presidential decree, in modern times Colin Powell rose to lead 

that institution and now is one of our 

most popular public figures. When minorities were once threatened and intimidated from exercising the franchise, now hundreds of minorities hold 

public office throughout the country 

and dozens of minority legislators sit 

here in the U.S. Congress. 

The Leadership Conference on Civil 

Rights has been at the forefront of this 

march of progress. The principles of 

equality, inclusion, and tolerance that 

it promotes are reflected in the structure of the organization, as it is comprised of 180 different groups representing people from all walks of life, 

all shades of skin color, and all denominations and ethnicities. The legislative achievements of the conference 

are monumental—not only for the importance of the bills on American life, 

but for the bipartisan support that 

they achieved. The Voting Rights Act 

Amendments of 1982, the Americans 

With Disabilities Act, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act are but 

a few of the conference’s noteworthy 

achievements. 

But one cannot look back fondly at 

successes without also thinking about 

our past shortcomings as well. Here we 

stand, a generation after the civil 

rights revolution, and we must ask how 

history will judge us. Have we done all 

we could to make our society more 

just, opportunities more available, tolerance and understanding more pervasive, violence less prevalent? Have poverty, intolerance, and ignorance been 

marginalized or have our actions or 

omissions led to the marginalizations 

of the poor, the uneducated, and others 

occupying the bottom rung of society? 

Any honest appraisal must conclude 

that our record is mixed. Progress has 

been made in many areas, but we are 

going backward in others. Our problems were once simple and clear issues 

of equal justice that could be solved 

merely by changing the law. Our current problems now bear on complex social conditions that few can explain 

and even fewer know how to solve. 

There is also new unrest in the country that is manifesting itself in ugly 

ways. Extremists seek to place at odds 

peoples and communities that have 

been traditional and genuine allies. 

The ethos of tolerance, dialog, and reconciliation are being subverted by 

those who, appealing to baser instincts, 

seek to balkanize America. And remarkably, there are those who now 

want to move to a color-blind society, 

based on the make-believe view that 

racism and intolerance are things of 

the past and that our centuries of overt 

discrimination have had absolutely no 

bearing on the current condition of the 

least fortunate members of society. It 

is as if many believe that the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil Rights 

Acts were written at the time of the 

Magna Carta and the beating of Rodney King happened centuries, not just 

years, ago. 

But rather than be discouraged in the 

face of our failures, and lament about 

the difficult challenges ahead, we must 

find hope in the progress that has been 

made and summon the resolve to redouble our efforts to remake our society to bring us closer to the ideals we 

hold dear. The work of the Leadership 

Conference is not done. We are a better 

society as a result of its 45 years of 

dedication to equality and we will be a 

better society due to its work in the future. 

f 

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF V–E 

DAY 

Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, on August 19, 1944, Parisians rose up in defiance of their German occupiers as Hitler ordered his army to destroy the 

city. His generals, however, delayed 

the order, and American and Free 

French Forces liberated Paris on August 25. Meanwhile, General Patton 

was racing eastward toward the German border and Rhine River. To the 

north, British Forces led by Field Marshall Montgomery swept into Belgium 

and captured Antwerp on September 4. 

On September 17, about 20,000 paratroopers dropped behind German lines 

to seize bridges in the Netherlands. But 

bad weather and other problems hampered the operation. 

Adolf Hitler pulled his failing resources together for another assault. 

On December 16, 1944, German troops 

surprised and overwhelmed the Americans in Belgium and Luxembourg, but 

they lacked the troops and fuel to turn 

their thrust into a breakthrough. Within 2 weeks, the Americans stopped the 

German advance near Belgium’s Meuse 

River. This offensive in the Ardennes 

Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg became known as the ‘‘Battle of the 

Bulge,’’ because of the bulging shape of 

the battleground as it appeared on a 

map. It was to be among the war’s 

most bloody battles. Although Hitler’s 

men knew they were beaten, it became 

clear that complete victory over Germany would have to wait until 1945. 

Soviet Forces entered Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria in January 1945. The 

Germans had pulled out of Greece and 

Yugoslavia in the fall of 1944, But held 

out in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, until February 1945. Vienna fell 

to Soviet troops in April. By then, Soviet troops occupied nearly all of Eastern Europe, a sign of victory then, but, 

in retrospect, also an ominous harbinger of the nature of the post-World 

War II world. 

The Allies began their final assault 

on Germany in early 1945. Soviet soldiers reached the Oder River, about 40 

miles from Berlin, in January. Forces 

in the West occupied positions along 

the Rhine by early March. British and 

Canadian Forces cleared the Germans 

out of the Netherlands and swept into 

northern Germany as the Americans 

and French raced toward the Elbe 

River in central Germany. Hitler ordered his soldiers to fight to the death, 

but large numbers surrendered each 

day. 

The capture of Berlin was left to the 

Soviets. By April 25, 1945, they had surrounded the city. From a bunker deep 

underground, Hitler ordered German 

soldiers to fight on. On April 30, he 

committed suicide. He remained convinced that his cause had been right, 

but that the German people had ultimately proven weak and unworthy of 

his rule. 

Grand Adm. Karl Doenitz briefly succeeded Hitler as the leader of Germany, 

almost immediately arranging for Germany’s surrender. On May 7, 1945, Col. 

Gen. Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of the 

German Armed Forces, signed a statement of unconditional surrender at 

General Eisenhower’s headquarters in 

France. World War II in Europe had, at 

last, come to an end. Fifty years ago, 

the Allies declared May 8 ‘‘V–E Day’’—

Victory in Europe Day. America could 

now concentrate all of its strength toward the battle still being waged in the 

Pacific, which would last for 3 more 

months. 

Today, the world celebrates a victory 

that represented the triumph of good 

over unspeakable evil, and the promise 

of a peaceful future for a Europe battered and torn by the bloodiest war in 

its history. May 8 is particularly special this year, since it marks the 50th 

anniversary of the end of the European 

chapter of World War II. 

As the Allies had advanced in Europe, they discovered the horrifying 

remnants of the Nazis’ ‘‘final solution.’’ Hitler had ordered the imprisonment of Jews and members of other minority groups in concentration camps. 

The starving survivors of the death 

camps gave proof of the terrible suffering of those who had already died. 

Today, we are familiar with those 

faces and pictures of death and destruction, but that familiarity has not led 

to understanding in many cases. We 

have the Holocaust Memorial Museum 

as a reminder of the past and as a 

warning to future generations of the 

grave dangers that are the ultimate 

fruits of hate, division, depravity. Victory in Europe Day, then, is also a 

time to reflect and to ask ourselves 

how such brutality could have been inflicted on the human race, and how it 

can be prevented from ever occurring 

again. 

Hitler’s rise to power was based upon 

a message of hate, of pitting one class 

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S6508 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE May 11, 1995 

against another, of demonizing Jews 

and others. His was a message of division, of blaming others for one’s problems. During the early 1930’s, Hitler instituted a policy of elimination of political opponents, of ‘‘enemies of the 

state.’’ According to the statutes of the 

security police, Jews, politically active 

churches, Freemasons, politically dissatisfied people, members of the Black 

Front, and economic manipulators, 

among others, were singled out for persecution. 

Hitler set down his political goals in 

his notorious book, ‘‘Mein Kampf.’’ His 

foreign policy plans revolved around 

the central aim of exterminating the 

Jews as the mortal enemy of the Aryan 

race. During the first stage, following 

the seizure of power, the ‘‘cancerous 

democracy,’’ as he called it, was to be 

abolished, and Jews, Bolsheviks, and 

Marxists were to be banished from the 

national community. Following the internal consolidation of the Reich, the 

German position in central Europe was 

to be secured step by step and then 

strengthened into world dominance. 

While Hitler had fought the existing 

government aggressively prior to his 

imprisonment for high treason, during 

which he wrote ‘‘Mein Kampf,’’ he 

adopted a new tactic after his early release from jail. Power was to be won 

slowly and legally as he systematically 

and methodically built up the Nazi empire. He used the Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933, as an opportunity to replace the constitutional laws of the 

Weimar Republic by passing an emergency decree ‘‘to protect the people 

and the state.’’ This marked the beginning of the hounding and arresting of 

political opponents, especially those on 

the left. The public was subjected to 

propaganda on a grand scale, instructed ‘‘to think nothing but German, to feel German, and to behave 

German.’’ Germans were also placed 

under heavy surveillance by the police 

and secret agents. 

Hitler was able to create the Nazi 

state by fanning the flames of paranoia, distrust, and fear. By making the 

Jews and others ‘‘faceless rats’’ devoid 

of humanity, he was able to make his 

henchmen commit acts which shock 

and offend our sensibilities as human 

beings. He was successful in making 

these groups scapegoats responsible for 

all of Germany’s economic and social 

ills. Just as some today try to divide, 

demonize, and scapegoat, Hitler managed to unite his people through their 

hatred of common enemies. 

Too often today, the solution to our 

problems seems to be to blame someone else—the poor, minorities, immigrants, and bureaucrats. The politics of 

blame is a basic tactic of those who 

preach intolerance and division, whether on the left or right. Hitler was perhaps history’s most terrible and tragic 

example of what can result when the 

politics of blame and hate are allowed 

to fester and grow. Too often, people 

attempt to glorify themselves by tearing down those with whom they disagree and by pitting one group against 

another. We need a return to moderation, tolerance, responsibility, and 

compassion so that nothing approaching the Holocaust and the hatred which 

fostered it will ever be allowed to again 

scar humanity in such a way. 

It is appropriate to take the time to 

not only celebrate V–E Day and reflect 

upon the roots of what led to World 

War II, but to also remember the selfless heroism of the 15 million Americans and the millions of other Allied 

servicemen who fought valiantly to 

preserve the democratic ideals that we 

so cherish. All risked their lives, and, 

sadly, some 407,000 Americans gave 

their lives to defend those ideals and 

the individual freedom and human 

rights upon which they are based. 

Fifty years after V–E Day, the light 

of history has shone brightly on the 

complex and harrowing events of World 

War II. Much of what has been revealed 

makes us shudder, and we would just as 

soon it not be illuminated. But only by 

looking can we learn, and as each year 

passes, we realize more fully just how 

much we owe our veterans for their patriotism, bravery, and sacrifice in serving on the battlefields of Europe during 

World War II. 

f 

JENA BAND OF THE CHOCTAW 

INDIANS 

Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, over 

90 years ago, a small poverty ridden 

community of Choctaw Indians who 

lived in the area around Jena, LA, 

walked for 9 months from their homes 

to Muskogee, OK, to testify before the 

Dawes Commission. Although that 

commission determined that the Jena 

Band were full-blooded native American Indians, entitled to land and services, lands were not yet ready for allotment. Consequently, the Jena Band returned to Louisiana empty-handed. 

Soon thereafter they were told by letter that they could claim such lands 

and benefits—but only if they returned 

to Oklahoma within 41⁄2 months. This 

was impossible for them, they did not 

return, and therefore received no land 

or benefits to which they were rightfully entitled. 

This story of promised benefits, land, 

and services has been repeated 

throughout the last 90 years. Each 

time the Jena Band has come close to 

receiving the recognition they deserve, 

some additional obstacle has been 

thrown in their way. Yet, despite this 

long history of broken promises and 

neglect the Jena have maintained their 

identity, their dignity, and their hope 

that the Federal Government will at 

long last live up to the commitments 

made to them so long ago in Muskogee. 

On May 18, 1995, the Jena Band will 

finally celebrate the arrival of justice 

as the Assistant Secretary for Indian 

Affairs at the Department of the Interior, Ada Deer, signs the documents establishing a government-to-government relationship between the United 

States of America and the Jena Band 

of the Choctaw. 

Mr. President, I have known the Jena 

through their chief, Jerry Jackson, as 

we have struggled together for many 

years to gain their rightful recognition. The Jena are proud of there heritage and of their community. I look forward to seeing the strengthening of 

their tribe and their cooperation with 

the surrounding communities in the 

years to come, and I ask my colleagues 

to join me in celebrating this longawaited event. 

f 

CARE ANNIVERSARY 

Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, during this 

year 1995 we are commemorating many 

anniversaries of the last days of World 

War II—of terrible battles, of the liberation of concentration camps with 

their unspeakable crimes against humanity, and of the final victories—but 

I rise today to congratulate one of the 

great humanitarian organizations that 

was born in the ashes of that great war. 

CARE begins the celebration of its 

50th year today, on the anniversary of 

the day when the first CARE package 

arrived in France. A coalition of organizations and individual Americans 

founded CARE—the Cooperative for 

American Remittances to Europe—on 

November 27, 1945, and the first CARE 

package was received in France on the 

following May 11. They set out to create a large and efficient distribution 

network, because they knew the huge 

scope of the needs in a Europe devastated by a long and destructive war. 

That package was the beginning of 

the largest person-to-person relief effort of this century—perhaps of any 

century. Millions of Americans sent 

more than 100 million CARE packages 

of food, clothing, medicine, and other 

relief supplies to war survivors in desperate need. CARE packages provided 

the first food some Holocaust victims 

received after being released from the 

camps. Later, CARE packages brought 

West Berliners their first food after the 

1949 blockade. 

CARE was a unique American phenomenon—highly individual, extremely 

generous, idealistic and—against all 

odds—tremendously successful. Germans, Italians, and Japanese remember 

how stunned they were to receive gifts 

from people with whom they had been 

at war only a few months before. CARE 

packages not only eased the suffering 

of survivors trying to rebuild their 

lives and their countries, but helped to 

build the bridges between former enemies that made possible a more lasting peace. 

Every single American President has 

been involved in the relief effort since 

President Harry Truman who sent the 

first 100 CARE packages to the 

bombed-out town of Le Havre, France. 

American cities and towns had CARE 

package drives, businesses put up displays encouraging people to send CARE 

packages, Hollywood stars, including 

Bob Hope, Gregory Peck, Marlene 

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