The Polish President Lech Kaczynski, honorary patron of our program, has tragically died

ŁK, 16 November 2016
On 10th October 2007 the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski wrote in a preface in the first our publication “Recalling Forgotten History for Poles who rescued Jews during the Holocaust”: "I would like on behalf of the Republic of Poland and my fellow countrymen to pay proper tribute to all these heroic people” referring to the Poles who provided aid to Jews during the Holocaust.

President Kaczynski further wrote: "I am commencing the work of awarding all those unsung and forgotten Poles with the medals of the Republic of Poland. Decorating those who risked their own lives and the lives of their loved ones and provided help to their Jewish friends, neighbors and their companions (...) I believe that the current actions will help to preserve forever the memories of the people and their actions will be remembered in the collective memory of our two nations: Polish and Jewish, as an example of human acts of heroism and hope it would continue in the consciousness of Europe and the world. "

The President took the honorary patronage of the "Polish Righteous – Forgotten History " program and he supported the idea that all the reports, pictures and documents about the Righteous should be collected and publicly presented.

Minister Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, the Secretary of State in the President’s Office and Ewa Wierzyńska, the Vice - Director of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews have also contributed to the initiation of the project. Over two years our institutions have closely worked on the organization of many events; numerous ceremonies, awarding the Righteous, and those who rescued the Jews without official recognition, publishing commemorative albums and publications, collecting records and building an internet portal.

It is difficult to truly appreciate the role of the President in changing social attitude towards the Righteous. Since the beginning of the program Kaczynski decorated over 170 people during four gala ceremonies. The first one took place in Warsaw's Grand Theatre in October 2007, the next two in November 2008 at the National Theatre in Warsaw and in August 2009 during the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto liquidation in Lodz. And the last one was held in February 2010, in Rzeszow where the First Lady Mrs. Maria Kaczynska who had always accompanied her husband, the President, during all previous ceremonies, decorated the Righteous with medals.

Not just our program, but all the Polish Righteous have lost a great patron and a great friend.