Three Poles were posthumously decorated with the Righteous Among the Nations medal
Feliksa and Ludwik Rutkowski were among the honoured. During the occupation, they hid a 17-year-old Dora Ruffle in their house in a village of Kołodeżno near Kowel in Wołyń Province. Mirosława Waleczek, the Rutowskis’ granddaughter, received the medal.
Another award was given to Franciszka Walczyszyn from Karczew in Zamojszczyzna region. During the World War II, the lady helped the Sohar family, who had run away form the Komarów ghetto and hid near Karczew. Franciszka Walczyszyn’s children Marianna Marcola, Stanisław and Witold Walczyszyn received the decorations.
During the ceremony honorary citizenships of Israel were granted. Eugenia Złotko nee Artymiak and her late parents Helena and Mikołaj Artymiak were honoured. The family, who during the WWII lived in a village of Kukawka, rescued Dora Libman, a daughter of a rabbi from Chełm. The girl had managed to escape from a transport to a prison in Zamość.
Till today, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority awarded 23 thousand the Righteous Among the Nations medals. The majority of them, over 6 thousand are held by Poles.
