European Day of the Righteous Gala at POLIN Museum

Mateusz Szczepaniak, 16 November 2016
For the fourth time, the European Day of the Righteous was marked yesterday. A gala was held at the POLIN Museum during which these 20th century heroes were honoured - Władysław Bartoszewski, Witold Pilecki and Father Jan Zieja. Trees of the Righteous will be planted in the spring in General Jan Jura-Gorzechowski Square in Warsaw.

The European Day of the Righteous was established by the European Parliament in May 2012 at the initiative of the Italian Committee for Gardens of the Righteous. The Polish Meeting House With History was a signatory. The date of 6th March was not coincidental. This is the date on which Mosze Bejski died. He was the founder of the Jerusalem Garden of the  Righteous and co-author of the definition of the "Righteous Among the Nations of the World".

"The concept of Righteous, which was used first in the Yad Vashem Memorial, today has a universal character", said Meeting House With History Director Piotr Jakubowski, during yesterday's event. "This title serves to memorialise not only those who have been honoured as Righteous by Yad Vashem, but also those who, in the face of totalitarianism and genocide, had the courage to fight for human dignity, aiding the victims or defending their rights."

The 2016 Righteous

This year, the Warsaw Garden of the Righteous to bestow its honorary total on Władysław Bartoszewski, Witold Pilecki and Rev. Jan Zieja. The gala was MC'ed by Jerzy Kisielewski. Profiles of 2016 Righteous were presented by Zbigniew Gluza, President of the KARTA Foundation, together with actors Julia Kijowska, Maja Komorowska and Olgierd Łukaszewicz.

Public administration, diplomatic, cultural dignitaries and Righteous took part in the gala event. Guests were welcomed by the director of POLIN Museum, Dariusz Stola.

"This individual, heroic stance - helping the victims of persecution - deserves the highest respect. Their example tells us to remembers that, despite legal and state guarantees, respect and moral rights must be deeply embedded our human consciousness”, said Wojciech Kolarski, Under-Secretary of State in the Polish President's Office.

The evening also featured a piano recital by Łukasz Krupiński and Jekaterina and Stanisław Drzewiecki, and was co-organised by Meeting House With History and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

The Warsaw Garden of the Righteous

The site in Warsaw, honouring the Rightous, was opened on 5th June 2014 at the Generał Jan Jura-Gorzechowski Square on Dzielna Street in Muranów.

To this time, those honoured there include Marek Edelman, Magdalena Grodzka-Gużkowska, Petro Hryhorenko, Jan Karski, Antonia Locetelli, Nelson Mandela, Hasan Mazhar, Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Anna Politkowska.