Israel's Yad Vashem institute receives prestigious Polish award
The Holocaust Remembrance Center, Yad Vashem, has received this year's Jan Karski Eagle Award for its mission to preserve the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Chairman of Yad Vashem Dani Dayan accepted the award during a ceremony held at the Polski Theatre in Warsaw on Thursday.
He said that Poland was a key partner in remembering the Holocaust, despite the complex shared history. "We respect the unique Polish brotherhood where it existed and face the painful chapters (of history - PAP) where needed," he said.
"Yad Vashem is honored to receive this prestigious award," the institute wrote on its website.
"Jan Karski courageously tried to expose the Nazi crimes in real time and convince world leaders to take action. Eighty years later, Yad Vashem is working tirelessly to tell the truth about the Holocaust, about the horrors that led to the murder of six million Jews, and to debunk the chorus of denials and distortions to ensure that history can never repeat itself," it said.
The Jan Karski Eagle Award was established on May 5, 2000, by the legendary Polish war courier and diplomat Jan Karski to honour individuals, institutions and nations who demonstrate their concern for Poland. Karski is known for delivering one of the first detailed reports of the Holocaust to the Western Allies.
Recipients of the award include the writer and journalist Elie Wiesel, the former Israeli president, Shimon Peres, the director Steven Spielberg, the late Polish prime minister, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, and numerous institutions advocating for international dialogue, remembrance and human rights.
Established in 1953, Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center with its main seat in Jerusalem, is Israel's official memorial institution dedicated to preserving the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Yad Vashem recognises non-Jews who risked their lives to rescue Jews during the Holocaust as the Righteous Among the Nations, honouring them with trees planted in their names at the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem.
Karski was given the title in 1982.(PAP)
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