100th Birthday of Prof. Janusz Durko
Professor Janusz Durko was born in 1915 in Warsaw. He graduated in history from the Warsaw University. During the German occupation, he was Secretary of the Social Building Enterprise (SPB) in the Warsaw suburb of Żoliborz. The SPB employed many Jews.
According to Prof. Durko, “They didn’t hide. They walked the streets. It is amazing that no one writes or talks about this – that Żoliborz was a kind of an enclave, a closed environment in which it hardly ever entered anyone’s head to go the ghetto”.
Durko himself, together with his mother Janina, hid several Jewish friends. During the War, around twenty ghetto escapees found shelter in their apartment. The Durko family were honoured with the title of Righteous Among the Nations.
On Monday 23rd February 2015, Janusz Durko celebrated his 100th birthday at the Warsaw Museum, an institution he led for more than half a century. He was presented with a cake and and exceptional gift – a msuical piece performed by a string quartet.
We wish Professor Durko happy birthday!
