Poles posthumously honoured for rescuing Jews
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
01.07.2017 11:05
Four Polish citizens have been posthumously awarded Righteous among the Nations medals for their efforts in helping Jews during World War II amid the German Nazi Holocaust.
Elżbieta Kołodziej (right), daughter of Bronisława Porwit, who was awarded a Righteous Medal. Photo: PAP/Jacek Bednarczyk
A ceremony held in the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków on Friday saw the families of Adam Janik, Maria and Wincenty Kwiatkowski and Bronisława Porwit receive distinctions in the presence of Knesset Chairman Yuli Edelstein and the Speaker of the Polish lower house of parliament, Marek Kuchciński.
“Today in Kraków we are witnesses to great history, one that holds both a personal and universal significance,” Kuchciński told those gathered at the event. “Back then, each individual effort had a universal dimension,” he said.
The official added that those awarded the Righteous medal “certainly didn’t consider their actions heroic but rather saw it as a moral duty of saving a life,” an act which carried a death penalty in German Nazi-occupied Poland.
The Righteous among the Nations medal is the highest civil distinction in Israel, awarded to Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem since 1963. Over 26,500 civilians have received the honor so far, including 6,700 Poles.
(aba/pk)
Source: PAP