For almost 30 years, Tom and Annette Lantos worked together in the Congress, fighting for the human rights and dignity of people across the globe. This commitment to human rights was a shared passion, born out of their joint experience as Holocaust survivors. With colleagues on both sides of the aisle, they co-founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and waged many important legislative battles. After his death, Congress permanently established the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which continues the work of The Human Rights Caucus.
In the final weeks of his life, Tom asked that a non-profit be established to carry on the work about which he felt so passionately. Tom was often quoted saying, “The veneer of civilization is paper thin. We are its guardians, and we can never rest.” It is now the mission of The Lantos Foundation to never rest in standing up for our nation's most important values. It is the steadfast devotion to those values of decency, dignity, and freedom that make us both the strongest and the most hopeful nation on the face of the earth. Tom believed this with every fiber of his being, and through the work of the Foundation we can, in Tom's words, carry "the noble banner of human rights to every corner of the world."
