H.R. No. 559
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, Amid world events that continue to bear witness to
1-2 the universal and eternal desire for freedom and the right of
1-3 self-determination, it is appropriate to pause today, April 19,
1-4 1993, on the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, and remember
1-5 the price that people have been forever willing to pay to be free
1-6 and to enjoy the blessing we hold dear; and
1-7 WHEREAS, Fifty years ago, the world watched in incredulous
1-8 horror as one of the darkest chapters in the history of humankind
1-9 unfolded during the bleak years of World War II; in the spring of
1-10 1943, while the war touched people in seemingly every corner of the
1-11 world, the small remnant of Warsaw's once large and thriving Jewish
1-12 population was engaged in its own desperate struggle to survive and
1-13 to maintain its own basic humanity; and
1-14 WHEREAS, Reviled, persecuted, and hunted with relentless
1-15 hatred by the Nazis, the heroic residents of Warsaw's Jewish
1-16 ghetto, which before the war had numbered approximately half a
1-17 million residents but which in the unspeakable horror of the
1-18 Holocaust had been reduced to only 55,000 brave souls, rose up as
1-19 one to resist the inhumanity to which they were being subjected;
1-20 and
1-21 WHEREAS, Despite the fear and starvation they had suffered
1-22 for years, along with the daily persecution that had been their lot
1-23 since the beginning of the war, a small band of insurgents began on
1-24 April 19, 1943, one last heroic struggle to lift the yoke of
2-1 tyranny, political oppression, and racial injustice, knowing full
2-2 well the odds against them in the form of a cruelly efficient
2-3 German war machine; and
2-4 WHEREAS, For a few brief moments, the uprising succeeded as
2-5 men, women, and children willing to make the ultimate sacrifice,
2-6 and with nothing else to lose, joined in the struggle; incredibly,
2-7 the uprising lasted five weeks as the fierce Jewish resistance in
2-8 the Warsaw ghetto both surprised and enraged the Nazis; and
2-9 WHEREAS, After reducing the ghetto to nothing more than
2-10 rubble, the Nazis finally were able to put down the uprising, but
2-11 their hollow and shameful victory ultimately proved to be
2-12 short-lived, and in the end it has been the victims of atrocity who
2-13 have emerged stronger in faith, determination, and resolve, and who
2-14 are honored today by a world still mindful of the need to ensure
2-15 that such horrors are no longer possible; and
2-16 WHEREAS, While some anniversaries afford many opportunities
2-17 for rejoicing, reminding us of the milestones we have passed in our
2-18 journey, others, less happy, are important to note because they
2-19 remind us of lessons we cannot forget; a people dedicated to the
2-20 principles of civil liberty, personal freedom, and justice for all,
2-21 we Texans recognize our kinship with freedom-loving people
2-22 everywhere and join with them in remembering this day; now,
2-23 therefore, be it
2-24 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 73rd Texas
2-25 Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw
2-26 Uprising and extend our heartfelt condolences to all of those who
2-27 lived and suffered through this dark chapter in the history of
3-1 mankind so that they may know that their suffering has not been in
3-2 vain.
3-3 vain.
3-4 Greenberg
3-5 H.R. No. 559
3-6 _______________________________
3-7 Speaker of the House
3-8 I certify that H.R. No. 559 was adopted by the House on April
3-9 19, 1993, by a non-record vote.
3-10 _______________________________
3-11 Chief Clerk of the House