Yad Vashem medals for more Polish Jew rescuers on Thu
Israel's Yad Vashem Institute Thursday in Warsaw awarded posthumous Righteous Among the Nations of the World medals to ten Polish Jew rescuers during World War Two.
During World War Two Poland was the only German-occupied country in Europe where aiding Jews was punishable by death.
The medals were granted to Florentyna Jozefa Krzeszowska and her daughter Florentyna Danuta, Aniela and Roman Lipski, Zofia Modzelewska, Tadeusz Stepniewski, Natalia Tomczak, Helena and Boleslaw Topolewski and their daughter Antonina.
Israeli Ambassador in Poland Anna Azari said at the awarding ceremony that the occasion was an honour for her and a "sacred mission" for her Embassy. She also reminded about Wednesday's celebrations of the outbreak of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Germans and Israel's Sunday-launching Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"It is an honour for me to be here with you at this ceremony. Yesterday thousands of people in Warsaw wore daffodils in memory of the ghetto uprising in Warsaw, and on Sunday evening Israel will begin celebrations of Holocaust Remembrance Day (...). This is why today's awarding of Righteous Among the Nations of the World medals to people who were a ray of light during the dark night that fell over Europe in the 1940s is moving and symbolic. The awarding of these medals is a sacred mission for the Israeli Embassy. It means recognition of good which gives us hope for the future of entire humanity", Azari said.
According to historians, at least a few hundred thousand Polish people offered assistance to fellow citizens of Jewish background during WW2. The number of saved Polish Jews is estimated at several dozen thousand.
Along with various combat activities, the Polish Home Army (AK) anti-German underground was widely involved in rescuing Polish Jews, among others through the famous 1942-founded Council to Aid Jews, codenamed 'Zegota' - the only organisation in Europe and the world established to defend and provide help to Jews in and outside ghettos.
Founded in 1942, the Home Army (AK) was the largest underground resistance force in German-occupied Europe, with up to half a million soldiers fighting in its ranks.
The Righteous Among the Nations distinction is awarded by Israel's Yad Vashem Institute, an official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Most trees planted at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem to commemorate those who saved Jews during the war are dedicated to Polish people. In all, there are more than 6,620 Polish people among the 26,120 Righteous Among the Nations worldwide. (PAP)
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