A ceremony in honour of Poles who rescued Jews in Wołomin

, 16 November 2016
On Friday, the 4 October 2013, Wołomin held a ceremony commemorating inhabitants of the Wołomin district who saved the lives of Jewish neighbours at the time of the German extermination from 1939 to 1945. During the ceremony, a memorial plaque was unveiled.

The ceremony was opened by a mass celebrated by Rev. Archbishop Henryk Hoser at the Saint Mary the Queen of Poland Church in Wołomin. It was followed by the inauguration of a memorial plaque on the wall of the district heritage and arts centre in Wołomin on Orwida Street, the former area of the ghetto during the war. The inscription on the plaque reads as follows: “In memory of Poles who saved their Jewish neighbours from the German extermination (1939-1945)”. It is accompanied by almost fifty names of local inhabitants who were awarded the title of the Righteous Among the Nations. The unveiling ceremony was followed by prayers by Rabbi Szalom Ber Stambler and by Archbishop Hoser in Hebrew and Polish respectively.

Invitees included the Mayor of Wołomin Ryszard Madziar and the President of the Local Government Community of the Wołomin district Adam Kopczyński. Also witnesses of history, two Righteous members from the Wołomin district, as well as Wołomin residents together with school students, were present. After the ceremony, a discussion on the involvement of Polish people in rescuing Jews during WWII was held at the district centre.