State honours for Poles who helped Jews in WWII
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
26.03.2019 00:10
Thirty-seven Poles were on Monday awarded state honours, most of them posthumously, by the president for helping Jews in World War II.
President Andrzej Duda hands out the state awards in Warsaw on Monday. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Handing out the decorations during a ceremony in Warsaw, President Andrzej Duda said that those who helped save Jews from the Holocaust were heroes who “fought without weapons in their hands … showing that the world can be a good place.”
Israeli Ambassador Anna Azari, Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz were among those who attended the presentation ceremony at the presidential palace.
Each recipient of the Commander's Cross of the Polonia Restituta Order was honoured for their "heroism and extraordinary courage” in saving Jewish lives during the dark days of World War II and for their “outstanding contribution to defending dignity, humanity and human rights.”
Poland on Sunday marked a special memorial day to honour citizens who helped save their Jewish neighbours from extermination at the hands of the Nazi Germans during the war.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP, IAR