The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Learn About the Righteous During Their Visit to Poland

During their two-day visit to Poland, the royal couple met with scholars, as well as representatives of the fields of culture and business whose activities strengthen the good relations between Poland and Great Britain. During her visit to Gdańsk's Shakespeare Theatre, Princess Kate spoke with British teacher and writer Antony Lishak, founder of the Learning from the Righteous organisation, which teaches children about the Holocaust through stories about the Righteous Among the Nations.

"When I spoke with the Duchess about their visit to the Stutthof camp that morning, I told her of the work of my organisation which teaches children about the courage of those who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust", says Antony Lisshak. "I said that it was important for children to know of the brutality of the German occupation. I took the opportunity of telling her about the activities we are organising to commemorate the Year of Irena Sendler. I told her that we are planning to dedicate a Garden of Remembrance in Irena's honour at The National Holocaust Centre in Nottingham, next May, and invited her and her husband to be guests of honour at the event".

As part of the activities of the Learning from the Righteous organisation, for many years, Antony Lishak has been running classes for children at Polish and Jewish schools in Great Britain. He is the author of the book Stars, inspired by the story of the director of the Warsaw Zoo, Jan Żabiński, and his wife Antonina who, during World War II, rescued many Jews from the Holocaust.

His organisation is currently preparing itself to celebrate the Year of Irena Sendler which, by a decision of the Polish parliament on 8th June this year, will take place in 2018, to coincide with the tenth anniversary of her passing. 

Read about the Year of Irena Sendler