LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring the memory of Rabbi Michoel Ber Weiss-
mandl for his efforts in the United States to save the European Jewish
populace during World War II

WHEREAS, From time to time this Legislative Body takes note of certain
extraordinary individuals of remarkable courage and strength of charac-
ter who risked their own lives for others, and stood with fortitude for
freedom and humanity; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
the memory of individuals of remarkable courage and strength of charac-
ter, whose purposeful lives embodied the spirit of the principles upon
which this Nation was founded, and who made their life's work the
support and furtherance of those principles; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concerns, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor the
memory of Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in the United States to save the
European Jewish populace during World War II; and
WHEREAS, Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl was instrumental in providing
the United States with situational awareness of the Jews in Europe,
specifically regarding Auschwitz, the largest and most notorious of the
Nazi concentration camp networks, which ultimately led to a halt to the
deportations of the remaining Hungarian Jewry; and
WHEREAS, Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl's daring efforts to save the
Jews of Slovakia from extermination at the hands of the Nazis during the
Holocaust included helping to establish the "Working Group," an under-
ground organization which raised funds to negotiate ransom with German
and Slovakian officials in order to delay mass deportations and, via the
famous Europa Plan, to secure the release of Jews; and
WHEREAS, Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl was also able to smuggle letters
and telegrams to leaders with abilities he hoped would help save the
Jews of Europe, including President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and
Winston Churchill and alerting them to the progressive Nazi destruction
of European Jewry; in addition, he provided actionable intel in terms of
where the railroads and crematoriums should be bombed; and
WHEREAS, The courage, wisdom and tenacity of this determined man laid
the groundwork for several rescue missions, including the Mantello
Mission, and the Wallenberg Mission, which freed tens of thousands of
Hungarian Jews; and
WHEREAS, Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl's combined actions, by some
accounts, has amounted to being responsible for as many as two-thirds of
the Holocaust survivors living in Brooklyn; and
WHEREAS, Today, more than 55 years after his death, the bravery and
willingness of Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl to fight for the lives of
his fellow human beings, and to secure the very existence of future
generations of European Jews, continues to inspire, and is deserving of
the highest honor by all defenders of freedom; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is pleased to have this opportunity to
express its highest admiration for Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor the memory of Rabbi Michoel Ber Weissmandl in the United States to
save the European Jewish populace during World War II.