The project of a monument to Poles rescuing Jews selected

, 16 November 2016
A folding band with inscribed names of people and organisations which helped Jews during WWII is the winning design for the future monument which will be built in Warsaw. Last Tuesday, the 18th of March, 2014, the selection process came to an end. The authors of the winning design are Piotr Musiałowski and Paulina Pankiewicz, and their cooperator Michał Adamczyk. The competition was organised by the Warsaw City Hall and The Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites.

The idea of the monument came from activists of the Committee for Commemorating Poles Rescuing Jews, which was founded in 1998. Its members include Prof. Adam Strzembosz and Prof. Jan Żaryń. The Committee estimates that the number of names inscribed will be approx. ten thousand, including the Polish Underground State, the Catholic Church and the Polish Government in Exile.

The monument will be erected at the entrance to All Saints Church, at Grzybowski Square, Warsaw, very close to the Jewish Theatre and the Nożyk Synagogue. During WWII, Grzybowski Square formed part of the ghetto set up by the Germans. Thanks to the involvement of Reverends Marceli Godlewski and Antoni Czarnecki, the parish sheltered many people of Jewish ancestry. The church became a place which helped Jews who converted to Catholicism before or during the war.

Source: www.gazeta.pl