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Poles posthumously named Righteous Among the Nations

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 28.01.2016 12:16
Two Poles, Walery and Maryla Zbijewski, have been posthumously honoured as Righteous Among the Nations for their work saving Jews during WWII, at an awards ceremony attended by US President Obama.
Walery and Maryla Zbijewski. Photo: yadvashem.orgWalery and Maryla Zbijewski. Photo: yadvashem.org

"The Talmud teaches that if a person destroys one life, it is as if they have destroyed an entire world. And if a person saves one life, it is as if they’ve saved an entire world. What an extraordinary honour to be with you as we honour four Righteous individuals whose courage is measured in the lives they saved,” President Obama said during the awards ceremony at the embassy of Israel in Washington on Wednesday.

Walery and Maryla Zbijewski were Poles who harboured a Jewish girl for months during World War II, protecting her from the Nazis, despite the fact that their own life was in danger.

The Yad Vashem authority, which recognises non-Jews who risked their lives to rescue Jews during the Holocaust, said: “Janina Ferster and her daughter Elżbieta managed to flee the ghetto and go into hiding. After staying for two months at the home of acquaintances, Tadeusz and Eugenia Kucharski, who also received recognition as Righteous, Janina brought her daughter to the home of Walery and Maryla Zbijewski, until she was able to rent an apartment under a false name and take her daughter back.

"Despite the enormous danger – the Germans publicly announced that helping Jews would be punished by death – the Zbijewskis cared for Elżbieta and protected her until her mother was able to collect her.”

The honour was also awarded to Americans Roddie Edmonds and Lois Gunden. (rg/pk)

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