US Congressman. He was born Lantos Tamás Péter in Budapest, into a Jewish family. During World War II he became part of a resistance movement against the Nazi occupation of Hungary, which led to his imprisonment in a labor camp in 1944. He escaped and found his way to a safe house where he was aided by the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. After emigrating to the United States in 1947 and enjoying a successful careeer as a professor of economics and international affairs analyst for public television, Lantos became the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress. A Democrat who represented the 12th Congressional District in California, which included southwest San Francisco and portions of San Mateo County, he was a voice for human rights, civil liberties and social justice. Elected to US House of Representatives in 1980, he served from January 5, 1981 until his death and was Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He appeared in the Academy Award winning film "The Last Days" (1998), a documentary of the Holocaust's effect on Hungarian Jews. Lantos died in Bethesda, Maryland of complications from cancer of the esophagus.
US Congressman. He was born Lantos Tamás Péter in Budapest, into a Jewish family. During World War II he became part of a resistance movement against the Nazi occupation of Hungary, which led to his imprisonment in a labor camp in 1944. He escaped and found his way to a safe house where he was aided by the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. After emigrating to the United States in 1947 and enjoying a successful careeer as a professor of economics and international affairs analyst for public television, Lantos became the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress. A Democrat who represented the 12th Congressional District in California, which included southwest San Francisco and portions of San Mateo County, he was a voice for human rights, civil liberties and social justice. Elected to US House of Representatives in 1980, he served from January 5, 1981 until his death and was Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. He appeared in the Academy Award winning film "The Last Days" (1998), a documentary of the Holocaust's effect on Hungarian Jews. Lantos died in Bethesda, Maryland of complications from cancer of the esophagus.
Bio by: Fred Beisser
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