HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 93-4627, by Representatives Anderson, Ebersole, Jacobsen, Ballasiotes, Horn and Locke

            WHEREAS, 1993 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; and

            WHEREAS, It is with admiration for the courage displayed, and with sadness in our hearts at the eventual tragic outcome, that we pause to commemorate this event in history; and

            WHEREAS, After years of being beaten, herded like animals, and watching relatives and neighbors disappear, the three hundred sixty thousand Jews confined in the Warsaw Ghetto and other Nazi-occupied places realized that submission would not stem the evil of the Holocaust and armed resistance was the only available alternative--yet they had no weapons; and

            WHEREAS, On January 18, 1943, Polish people outside the Warsaw Ghetto were able to supply the Ghetto Resistance with a small number of weapons and a successful ambush against a Nazi patrol was carried out; and

            WHEREAS, For months the Ghetto Resistance held out, becoming better organized and more effective as time went on, thereby interrupting the Nazi's extermination program; and

            WHEREAS, In order to conquer the Ghetto Resistance, the Nazis had to bombard, burn, and systematically destroy the city; and

            WHEREAS, Resistance to oppression, even against great odds, is fueled by intense emotion.  Fear, love, and outrage can carry people beyond normal limits to achieve heroic deeds and overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles; and

            WHEREAS, The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the first instance of an uprising by an urban population in Nazi-occupied Europe, is a moving example of resistance to oppression;

            NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; and

            BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to Jewish and Polish organizations observing this anniversary.

                                       I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

                                   Resolution 4627 adopted by the Rules Committee of the

                                              House of Representatives March 11, 1993.

                                                ________________________________

                                                           Alan Thompson, Chief Clerk