The Claims Conference Mourns the Passing of Holocaust Survivor and U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos

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February 11, 2008

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany mourns the passing of U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress.

“After losing most of his family in the Shoah, Tom went on to seek justice for persecuted individuals around the world,” said Julius Berman, chairman of the Claims Conference. “He was one of the leading advocates for human rights, and he will be sorely missed.”

An American by choice, Tom Lantos was born on February 1, 1928, in Budapest, Hungary. He was 16 years of age when Nazi Germany occupied his native country. As a teenager, he was placed in a Hungarian fascist labor camp. He succeeded in escaping and was able to survive in a safe house in Budapest set up by Swedish humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg.

The Claims Conference extends its deepest condolences to the entire Lantos family.