Bill Text: NJ SR79 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Honors Hiram Bingham IV for risking his life and career to save refugees from Nazis.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-07-01 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [SR79 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-SR79-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JENNIFER BECK
District 12 (Mercer and Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Honors Hiram Bingham IV for risking his life and career to save refugees from Nazis.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution honoring Hiram Bingham IV for risking his life and career to save thousands of Jews and other refugees from Nazi persecution.
Whereas, Hiram Bingham IV, while serving as a United States diplomat in France during World War II, saved thousands of Jews and other refugees during the war; and
Whereas, Born in 1903, Hiram Bingham IV lived in Princeton in 1906 while his father, the explorer Hiram Bingham III, who rediscovered the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, served as a Preceptor at Princeton University; and
Whereas, Following the fall of Paris in 1940, the German government required the French to "surrender on demand" anyone considered an enemy of Germany; and
Whereas, Hiram Bingham IV, as vice consul in Marseilles, France, knowingly violated United States policy by issuing visas and false passports to Jews and other refugees in order to save them from almost certain death; and
Whereas, In addition to issuing entry permits to the United States, Hiram Bingham IV undertook extraordinary measures to save individuals fleeing Nazi persecution, including providing disguises, purchasing fake documents, hiding people in his villa, and passing some refuges off as members of his own family; and
Whereas, After receiving information about Hiram Bingham's efforts to rescue refugees, the State Department transferred him from Marseille to Lisbon in 1941; and
Whereas, On June 27, 2002, 14 years after Hiram Bingham's death in 1988, the American Foreign Service Association presented Hiram Bingham IV with a special posthumous award for "constructive dissent" in recognition of his intellectual courage to challenge United States policy during Word War II; and
Whereas, In honor of his clandestine work to help refugees in France escape the Nazis, the United States Postal Service depicted Hiram Bingham IV on the "Distinguished American Diplomats" commemorative postage stamps in 2006; and
Whereas, It is fitting and proper for the Senate of the State of New Jersey to honor Hiram Bingham IV for risking his life and career to save thousands of Jews and other refugees from Nazi persecution; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House honors Hiram Bingham IV for risking his life and career to save thousands of Jews and other refugees from Nazi persecution.
2. A duly authenticated copy of this resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary thereof, shall be transmitted to Robert Kim Bingham, Esq., son of Hiram Bingham IV, and to the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education.
STATEMENT
This resolution honors Hiram Bingham for risking his life and career to save thousands of Jews and other refugees from Nazi persecution. Born in 1903, Hiram Bingham IV lived in Princeton in 1906 while his father, the explorer Hiram Bingham III, who rediscovered the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, served as a Preceptor at Princeton University.
While serving as a United States diplomat in France during World War II, Hiram Bingham IV saved thousands of refugees by knowingly violating U.S. policy during the war. Following the fall of Paris in 1940, the German government required the French to "surrender on demand" anyone considered an enemy of Germany. In order to save thousands of Jews and other refugees from almost certain death, Hiram Bingham IV issued visas and false passports to those fleeing Nazi persecution. In addition, Hiram Bingham undertook extraordinary measures to help refugees avoid capture, including providing disguises, purchasing fake documents, hiding people in his villa, and passing some refuges off as members of his own family. After receiving information about Hiram Bingham's efforts to rescue refugees, the State Department transferred him from Marseille to Lisbon in 1941.
On June 27, 2002, 14 years after Hiram Bingham's death in 1988, the American Foreign Service Association presented Hiram Bingham IV with a special posthumous award for "constructive dissent" in recognition of his intellectual courage to challenge United States policy during World War II. In 2006, in honor of his clandestine work to help refugees in France escape the Nazis, the United States Postal Service depicted Hiram Bingham IV on the "Distinguished American Diplomats" commemorative postage stamps.
