Tom Lantos: “Mr. Speaker, this important resolution commends the government of Portugal and the people of Portugal for the long-time…”

“Mr. Speaker, this important resolution commends the government of Portugal and the people of Portugal for the long-time friendship and support in the war on international terrorism. I owe a special personal debt of gratitude to Portugal because of my wife, Annette. Portuguese consuls in several European capitals during the second World War extended protections to Jews, including in my own native city of Budapest, Hungary. Portuguese Consul General Branquinho together with the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg were responsible for saving the life of my wife, Annette, during that period. Portugal admitted thousands of Jewish refugees during 1940 and 1941 and allowed rescue organization to operate in Lisbon. One of the heroes of the Holocaust was the Portuguese Consul General in Bordeaux, France, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who issued as many as 10,000 Portuguese transit visas to refugees stranded in France in order that they might cross the Spanish frontier.”