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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Henry Kellen of El Paso survived the Holocaust and |
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has built on his experiences to create the El Paso Holocaust Museum |
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and Study Center; and |
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WHEREAS, Henry Kellen was born Heniek Kacenelenbogen in Lodz, |
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Poland, in 1915; after completing university studies in France and |
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graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1938, he |
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settled in Kaunas, Lithuania; following the outbreak of World War |
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II, the area was seized by the Soviet Union and then, in turn, by |
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Nazi Germany in June 1941; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Kellen and all other Jews from the town of Kaunas |
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were forced to relocate to the Kovno Ghetto; over the next several |
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years, the Nazis reduced the population of the ghetto by means of |
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deportations to work and death camps as well as mass executions; |
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only 1 in 10 Jews in Lithuania survived the Holocaust; and |
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WHEREAS, Those in the Kovno Ghetto tried to maintain normalcy |
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as best they could; schools were operated in defiance of Nazi orders |
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and some individuals, such as Mr. Kellen and his wife, Julia, got |
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married while confined there; in March 1944, Mr. Kellen witnessed |
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the kinderaktion, during which the Nazis rounded up and killed |
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hundreds of babies and children and Mr. Kellen's seven-year-old |
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nephew, Jerry, narrowly avoided death; with the ghetto being |
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systematically reduced, Mr. and Mrs. Kellen and Jerry escaped the |
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following month; they were hidden by Christian farmers named |
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Andrius and Maria Urbanas until the Soviet army drove the Nazis from |
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the area; and |
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WHEREAS, After the war, Mr. Kellen settled in El Paso; he and |
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his wife initially vowed not to speak of their past, but, as he |
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entered retirement nearly four decades later, he began to feel an |
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obligation to those who had not survived as he had; with a small |
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corner of borrowed space at the Jewish Community Center, Mr. Kellen |
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began to tell his remarkable story; he met with school, church, and |
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civic groups to discuss his treatment at the hands of the Nazis; his |
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talks proved so popular that it soon became apparent that a |
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dedicated space was needed for a Holocaust museum; and |
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WHEREAS, Through community support, the museum opened its |
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doors in 1994; an electrical fire destroyed the original building |
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in 2001, but the museum continued to operate by visiting schools and |
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using temporary gallery space; the people of El Paso rallied to help |
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raise $2.5 million for a new facility, which opened in 2008; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2009, El Paso mayor John Cook honored Mr. Kellen |
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with the Conquistador Award, the highest possible accolade that can |
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be given to an El Pasoan who has made exceptional contributions to |
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the city; and |
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WHEREAS, Through the efforts of Henry Kellen, the lessons of |
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the Holocaust--that hatred and bigotry have no place in the human |
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endeavor--are being taught to new generations of young Texans, and |
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his work toward this end has made a lasting and positive difference |
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in the community; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to Henry Kellen for his |
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establishment of the El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center and |
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for his efforts to heighten awareness of this dark chapter in world |
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history among the citizens of El Paso and beyond; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Kellen as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |