[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H673-H675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE OF MIEP GIES
Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 1074) honoring the life of Miep Gies, who aided
Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and preserved her diary
for future generations.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1074
Whereas Hermine ``Miep'' Gies was born on February 15,
1909, in Vienna, Austria;
Whereas Miep Gies was sent to live with a host family in
the Netherlands when she was 11 years old after the tumult of
World War I led to food shortages in Austria;
Whereas in 1933, Miep Gies took a job as an office
assistant to Otto Frank, owner of Opekta, a pectin
manufacturing company, and father of Anne Frank;
Whereas Miep Gies agreed without hesitation to hide and
assist the Frank family to avoid Jewish persecution at the
hands of Nazi Germany;
Whereas Miep Gies helped hide and sustain the Frank family,
along with Hermann and Auguste Van Pels, their son Peter, and
later Fritz Pfeffer, for two years in a secret room above
Opekta's offices, bringing them food, supplies, and writing
supplies for Anne;
Whereas when the Gestapo captured the Frank family, the Van
Pels family, and Mr. Pfeffer, on August 4, 1944, Miep Gies
discovered the pages of Anne Frank's diary in the secret room
and hid them for safekeeping;
Whereas after learning that Anne Frank and her sister
Margot died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen, Miep Gies gave Anne
Frank's diary to her father Otto, the only surviving member
of the family;
Whereas ``The Diary of a Young Girl'' by Anne Frank, which
has been translated into 70 languages, is both an
inspirational story about hope in the face of senseless
tragedy and an important testament for future generations to
the horrors of the Holocaust;
Whereas Miep Gies shared her recollections to author Alison
Leslie Gold for the book ``Anne Frank Remembered'', which was
later made into a powerful documentary film;
Whereas Miep Gies, who would recount her extraordinary life
with a self-effacing modesty that betrayed her unfailing
courage and integrity, serves as a powerful symbol of
resistance against the forces of oppression and injustice;
Whereas Miep Gies represents the valor demonstrated by the
countless ordinary individuals who stood up to and helped
defeat Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime; and
Whereas Miep Gies passed away on January 11, 2010: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes Miep Gies's courage in risking her own life
to hide and provide for the Frank family while they were in
hiding;
(2) commends Miep Gies for retrieving and preserving the
diary of Anne Frank, which has served as an inspiration to
countless people the world over; and
(3) honors Miep Gies for her bravery during Nazi occupation
of the Netherlands and her dedication to preserving the
memory of Anne Frank and the Holocaust.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. McMahon) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.
Anne Frank and her family's struggle to survive the Holocaust is
known to millions around the world, but few realize that the story of
Anne and the
[[Page H674]]
Frank family would never have been known had it not been for the
selfless acts of Miep Gies, who passed away on January 11.
The Frank family was ultimately captured by the Gestapo and deported
to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where Anne and her sister
Margor died of typhus. Anne's diaries survived the war and continue to
serve as an inspirational story of hope in the face of senseless
tragedy and an important testament for future generations to the
horrors of the Holocaust. Were it not for the selfless acts of Miep
Gies, an employee of Anne's father, Otto, who aided the Frank family
while they were in hiding and preserved Anne's diary, Anne's story
would likely never have been known. Miep agreed without hesitation to
hide and assist the Frank family to avoid persecution in the hands of
the Nazis, and by doing so put her own life at risk.
After the Gestapo discovered the Frank family's hiding place, Miep
hid the pages of Anne's diary for safekeeping and years later returned
them to Otto, the only surviving member of the Frank family. Miep Gies
also shared her recollections to author Alison Leslie Gold for the
book, ``Anne Frank Remembered,'' which was later made into a powerful
documentary film. She recounted her extraordinary life with a self-
effacing modesty that betrayed her unfailing courage and integrity,
serving as a powerful symbol of resistance against the forces of
oppression and injustice.
{time} 1430
We mourn the passing of this extraordinary woman, and honor her for
her bravery and compassion.
I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Miep Gies' courage in
risking her own life to hide and to provide for the Frank family and
for preserving the memory of Anne Frank and the Holocaust.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of this bill, and I rise in
support of House Resolution 1074, which honors the life of Miep Gies,
who helped Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and who
preserved Anne's famous diary for future generations.
With Miep's passing on January 11, the world has lost a true hero.
Before German occupation, Miep worked as an office assistant in
Amsterdam for Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father. After Nazi Germany
occupied Holland and after Hitler began to accelerate his plan for
total extermination of the Jews, Anne Frank's father began to make
plans to hide his family from persecution.
As Miep later recalled in the spring of 1942, Otto Frank sat her down
and told her that they were going to go into hiding, and he asked her
if she would be willing to help out the family by bringing them food.
Miep simply answered, ``Yes, of course.''
For 2 years, Miep, her husband and a number of her friends helped the
Frank family and four other Jews hide in a small attic apartment behind
the office of the Frank Family business. They brought them food and
other necessities while putting their own lives at risk every day.
During their years in hiding, Anne Frank, as we all know, kept a
diary, which described her experiences. This diary would later become
one of the most widely read books in the world, providing millions of
people with a glimpse of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young,
bright and ever hopeful Jewish girl.
In August of 1944, the Gestapo discovered their hiding place, and
they arrested the Frank family. After the Frank family was captured,
Miep discovered the pages of Anne Frank's diary, and held them in
safekeeping until after the war. She later gave the diary to Anne's
father, who returned to Amsterdam after surviving Auschwitz. In fact,
he was the only member of the Frank family who managed to survive.
Anne's mother died in Auschwitz, and Anne and her sister perished in
the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Decades after the Holocaust, Miep stated the following about what she
and her husband and a number of her friends did to help the Frank
family and others:
``It seemed perfectly natural to me. I could help these people. They
were powerless. They didn't know where to turn. I always emphasize that
we were not heroes. We did our duty as human beings.''
What Miep and others did during the Holocaust to save lives, while
putting their own at risk, was nothing short of heroism. Miep has
survived and has received many honors for her heroism, including being
knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and receiving a medal from
Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.
Though Miep passed away last month, her relentless courage, her
compassion and her contribution to preserving one of the most unique
and important documentations of the horrors of the Holocaust will not
be forgotten.
I thank my distinguished colleague, Congresswoman Kilroy, for
introducing this measure which recognizes Miep's courage in risking her
life to hide and to provide for the Frank family while they were in
hiding. It commends Miep for retrieving and preserving the diary of
Anne Frank. Further, it honors Miep for her bravery during the Nazi
occupation of the Netherlands, and it honors her dedication to
preserving the memory of Anne Frank so as to remember the terrible
lessons of the Holocaust.
I support this important measure, Madam Speaker, and I urge my
colleagues to do the same.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the prime sponsor
of this resolution, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kilroy).
Ms. KILROY. Thank you, my colleagues.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1074,
legislation that I introduced to honor the life of Hermine ``Miep''
Gies, who aided Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and who
preserved her diary for future generations.
I want to thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for
their support in bringing this resolution to the floor.
Why is it important to honor Miep Gies?
I recently visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.
It is an overwhelming experience, and as we ponder the horror of
Hitler's plan to eradicate the Jewish people, we ask ourselves: How
could this have happened? How could so many stand by silently? How
could so many actually participate?
So it is important, I think, to understand that there are some who
spoke up, heroes like Miep Gies, and it is important to honor people
like her, people who helped the Jews, who worked against the sea of
hatred that had enveloped most of Europe at that time--people like Miep
Gies, an ordinary woman, who did an extraordinary thing.
She was born to a German Catholic family in Austria on February 15,
1909. When she was 11, her family sent her to live with a foster family
in the Netherlands to escape food shortages in postwar Austria. She
worked as a servant, as a seamstress, as waitress. Then, in 1933, she
took a job with an Amsterdam manufacturing company owned by Otto Frank,
a German Jew, who left Frankfurt when Hitler became Chancellor of
Germany and when the organized attacks on the Jews began, including the
boycott on Jewish businesses.
Ms. Gies quickly became friends with the Frank family. On July 6,
1942, more than 2 years into the German occupation of the Netherlands,
Otto Frank; his wife, Edith; and his daughters, Margot and Anne, went
into hiding in a secret annex behind a bookshelf in Otto Frank's
office. They were later joined by Hermann and Auguste Van Pels; their
son, Peter; and Fritz Pfeffer.
For 2 more years, Miep Gies, along with her husband, Jan, and three
other employees of Otto Frank, risked their lives to supply the eight
people in hiding with food, clothing, with news from the outside, and
with paper for Anne to write on.
As Anne noted in her diary, ``Miep has so much to carry; she looks
like a pack mule. She goes forth nearly every day, scrounging for
vegetables, and then bicycles back with her purchases in large shopping
bags.''
Miep is also the one who brought five library books to Anne every
Saturday. She did this during a time of war. It
[[Page H675]]
was a time of shortages, a time when getting food meant managing ration
coupons. Despite their efforts, though, on August 4, 1944, the Gestapo
raided the secret hiding place, and they captured the eight hideaways
who were betrayed by an anonymous tip.
Miep Gies discovered the pages of the diary that Anne kept during her
time in hiding, and Miep locked them in a desk drawer for safekeeping.
When she learned that Margot and Anne had died of typhus at the Bergen-
Belsen concentration camp, she returned Anne's diary to Otto Frank, the
only one of the eight to have survived the Holocaust.
Later in her life, she testified against the Neo-Nazis, who denied
the authenticity of the diary. She helped in the establishment of a
museum in the small building where Anne and her family had hid.
As was noted, she passed away recently, on January 11, 2010, at the
age of 100, but she kept alive a very important part of Holocaust
history by preserving Anne's diary and by helping us to learn, to
understand and to remember so it will not happen again.
The ``Diary of a Young Girl,'' by Anne Frank, has been translated
into 70 languages--an inspirational story about hope in the face of war
and an important testament for future generations so that the horrors
of the Holocaust will not be forgotten. Like so many others who read
Anne's diary, as a young woman, I was deeply moved by her steadfast
optimism even during a period of her life defined by the evil of that
day.
Thanks to Miep Gies' bravery, Anne's recollections have been
preserved for future generations. Miep later described her efforts to
assist the eight people in hiding, saying, ``Of course, it's nice to be
appreciated, but I only did my duty to my fellow man. I helped people
in need. Anyone can do that, can't they?''
This understated appraisal of her heroic acts is just one example of
her modesty and her integrity. We can learn much from Miep Gies, an
ordinary woman, who showed extraordinary courage in the face of
unspeakable peril during Nazi occupation and the Holocaust. She is a
powerful symbol of resistance against oppression and injustice. She is
an example of our human capacity to rise even to the most daunting of
challenges.
I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing this incredible
woman's life and legacy.
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I stand before you today in
support of H. Res. 1074 ``Honoring the life of Miep Gies, who aided
Anne Frank's family while they were in hiding and preserved her diary
for future generations.''
I would like to begin by thanking my colleague Representative Mary Jo
Kilroy for introducing this resolution in the House, as it is important
that we honor and recognize those who helped and aided groups of people
who were persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. Furthermore, we
must never forget the horrible atrocities of the Holocaust and continue
to fight against acts of genocide around the world as well as fight
against bigotry and intolerance here at home in the U.S.
During the Second World War, Miep Gies helped and assisted Anne Frank
and her family by hiding and protecting them from Nazi persecution. In
fact, Miep Gies agreed to hide and assist the Frank family in avoiding
Jewish persecution at the hands of the Nazis without hesitation.
Miep Gies initially met Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank, in 1933 and
worked as a secretary in his pectin manufacturing company, Opekta.
After some time, she became well acquainted with the Frank family, as
did her husband Jan Gies, whom she married on July 16, 1941.
In the early 1940s, the Nazis began targeting specific groups of
people including Jews, ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet
prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and other political and religious groups. Between 1940 and
1945 during the Holocaust, more than 6 million Jews and other targeted
groups were exterminated by the Nazis.
During this time, Miep Gies along with her husband and several
colleagues helped hide the Frank family including Edith and Otto Frank,
their daughters Margot and Anne, Hermann and Auguste van Pels, their
son Peter, and Fritz Pfeffer, from Nazi persecution. Miep Gies' husband
Jan Gies was a member of the Dutch Resistance who was dedicated to
assisting Jews and other persecuted peoples escape by obtaining illegal
ration cards for food and finding good hiding places. Miep Gies and her
husband hid the Frank family in a secret upstairs room of the office
building that was used by Mr. Frank's spice company from July 1942 to
August 1944.
Every few days Miep Gies would come by the secret upstairs room of
Mr. Frank's former office building and bring food supplies in addition
to writing supplies for Anne Frank. Because of Miep Gies' genuine
compassion and selflessness, her friends were able to evade the horrors
of Nazi persecution for two years.
Sadly, on the morning of August 4, 1944, the Grune Polizei arrested
Anne Frank and her family who were hiding in the secret upstairs room
of Mr. Frank's office building. Because of her genuine care and
compassion for her friends however, Miep Gies attempted to petition and
bribe the Austrian Nazi officer to release her friends for several days
after their arrest. Unfortunately the officer would not allow for their
release.
After being arrested, Anne Frank and her family were deported to the
Auschwitz Nazi Concentration Camp where Anne stayed until being
transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Sadly, Anne Frank
later died there in March 1945 at the age of 15 though her father Otto
Frank, from whom she was separated, survived the war.
Sometime after Anne Frank and her family were arrested and deported,
Miep Gies found the diary Anne Frank had kept while hiding from the
Nazis in the secret room and safeguarded it through the end of the war.
It wasn't until after the end of World War II that Miep Gies released
the pages of Anne Frank's diary to her father, Otto Frank.
The diary of Anne Frank was later published and entitled ``The Diary
of a Young Girl.'' The diary was also translated into 70 languages and
remains as a testament for future generations on the horrors of the
Holocaust and the importance of preventing genocide in all forms.
Sadly Miep Gies recently passed away on January 11, 2010 leaving
behind a legacy of compassion and teaching. Today I stand in
recognition of the courage that Miep Gies had in risking her own life
to shelter and provide for the Frank family while they were in hiding
from the Nazis. The love and selflessness that Miep Gies showed in
sheltering her friends from the hatred and persecution of Nazi Germany
should be an example to us all.
I would also like to commend Miep Gies for recovering and preserving
the diary of Anne Frank through the end of World War II. Because of the
thoughtfulness of Miep Gies, the Diary of Anne Frank now serves as both
an inspiration as well as an example to millions of people around the
world.
It is important that we never forget the horrible actions that took
place during the Holocaust. It is also important that we never forget
the courageous and noble acts of people all across Europe in the fight
against the Nazi regime as well as those who assisted persecuted groups
during those terrible times.
Furthermore, I would also like to urge countries and leaders across
the world to reassess their efforts in fighting racism, intolerance and
anti-Semitism. Through providing education and instruction to adults
and children alike, we can help to ensure that what happened in Europe
during the Holocaust is never allowed to happen again.
I ask my colleagues for their support of this legislation as well as
their support for those who protect defenseless people across the
world. I strongly urge you to support this resolution.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. McMahon) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1074.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. McMAHON. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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