S.Res. 227 — Introduced in Senate

III 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 227 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 17, 2013Mr. Menendez submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the heroic rescue of Danish Jews during the Second World War by the Danish people. Whereas, in the fall of 1943, the Nazis occupied Denmark and issued orders that the Danes deport all Danish Jews to concentration camps where the Jews would eventually be exterminated; Whereas the Danish people, as a result of the Nazi mandate, refused to accept the prosecution of the Jews and began a mission of mercy on October 1, 1943, smuggling Jews across the Oresund Strait to neutral Sweden via small boats and fishing cutters; Whereas the Danish rescuers unselfishly risked their own lives, avoiding German patrols for weeks during the rescue operations; Whereas approximately 90 percent of the Danish Jews were saved from certain death at the hands of the Nazis by the sheer courage and compassion demonstrated by the Danes; and Whereas it is imperative that future generations continue to remember and understand what happened so that the horrors of the Holocaust will never be repeated: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate— (1) recognizes and commemorates the bravery and valor of those Danes who participated in the 1943 rescue operations that saved the lives of 7,300 Jews who would otherwise have perished in Nazi concentration camps; and (2) declares that the world owes a great debt to these Danes who did not turn a blind eye on the dangers that faced Jews under Nazi occupation and continue to serve as inspiration to others in times of difficulties and challenges.