Celebrations in Łódź

ZZ, 16 November 2016
An important part of the celebrations of the 65th Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Lizmannstadt Ghetto was the ceremony in honor of the Jewish survivors and the Righteous Among the Nations held on August 27th, 2009. The ceremony, which took place at the “Survivors Park” created 5 years ago, was organized with great commitment by the City of Łódź Office and Mayor Jerzy Kropiwnicki.


The ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński and the First Lady, accompanied by Mrs. Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, the Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the President, Mr. Mariusz Handzlik, Undersecretary of State at the Chancellery of the President, Fr. Roman Indrzejczyk, Chaplain to the President, the diplomatic corps, representatives of the state and local governments, Righteous Among the Nations, Survivors of the Holocaust, and representatives of the Jewish community.

President Lech Kaczyński and Mayor Kropiwnicki unveiled the Monument to Poles Who Rescued Jews (Pomnik Polaków Ratujących Żydów): plaques with the names of of the Polish Righteous are set into the surface of the arms of the Star of David-shaped construction. Another sign of remembrance within the Park are plaques, set in the alleys, bearing the names of several hundred Jewish survivors from Łódź. The participation of both the Rescuers and the Rescued – elderly people who arrived for the occasion from all over Poland and all over the world – was the most moving feature of the ceremony.

As part of the celebrations, President Lech Kaczyński awarded medals for bravery and heroism shown in aiding Jews during World War II and for extraordinary achievements in protecting human rights and dignity.

The Polish Righteous – Recalling Forgotten History project prepared for the occasion the third edition of the “Poles who Rescued Jews during the Holocaust” album which presents the profiles of the rescuers who were decorated. We would like to take this opportunity to express our best wishes and congratulate them.

The decorated:
THE COMMANDER’S CROSS OF THE ORDER OF POLONIA RESTITUTA

1. Helena Bąkała*

2. Kazimierz Brzuszkiewicz*

3. Maria Bytnar

4. Zofia Celińska*

5. Danuta Ciecierska*

6. Ryszard Ciszewski

7. Marianna Gajowniczek

8. Stanisław Galas

9. Marian Garbuliński

10. Irena Gwozdowicz*

11. Irena Hamerska

12. Henryka Kabacińska-Szczęsna*

13. Halina Koczorowska*

14. Mieczysław Korczak

15. Jan Kostrzewa*

16. Helena Kowalewska*

17. Jadwiga Krzywicka

18. Stanisław Laska

19. Jan Łukaszewski

20. Honorata Mucha*

21. Marian Piwowarski

22. Tadeusz Stankiewicz

23. Julian Szklarski

24. Maria Śpiewak

25. Aniela Tatur

26. Antonina Tomaszewska

27. Krystyna Wiśniewska*

28. Ryszard Witkowski

29. Halina Wittig

30. Helena Wyganowska*

31. Józefa Zaleska

32. Czesława Żak


POSTHUMOUSLY

33. Stefania Dubiniecka

34. Albin Dubiniecki

35. Andrzej Garbuliński

36. Władysław Garbuliński

37. Tadeusz Grzesiak

38. Anna Iwaszkiewicz*

39. Franciszek Korczak

40. Ludwik Krępa

41. Wanda Krępa

42. Zbigniew Kuszewski

43. Ryszard Lerczyński

44. Sabina Leszczyńska

45. Apolonia Machczyńska-Świątek*

46. Henryk Piwowarski

47. Julianna Postek

48. Stanisław Postek

49. Tadeusz Potężny

50. Elżbieta Pruska

51. Marian Pruski

52. Władysław Stańczykowski

53. Emilia Waszkinel

54. Piotr Waszkinel

55. Irmgard Wieth


For extraordinary achievements in furthering the Polish-Jewish dialogue and cooperation among the nations, the President of Poland decorated the following persons with:

the Commander’s Cross with a Star
of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

56. Josef Buchmann
57. Ron Huldai

the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit
of the Republic of Poland

58. Guy Billauer
59. Benzion Miller

the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit
of the Republic of Poland

60. Aleksander Klugman*
61. Uri Zvi Wizenberg

the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit
of the Republic of Poland

62. Zvi Hersh Bergman*
63. Chaim Kozienicki
64. Jehuda Aharon Widawski

For extraordinary achievements in furthering the Polish-Jewish dialogue and cooperation among the nations, President Lech Kaczyński decorated the following persons:

Decorated at the Radegast station with

the Golden Cross of Merit
1. Małgorzata Burzyńska-Keller
2. Jankiel Chaim Mitelman
3. Lilianna Mitelman
4. Jarosław Nowak
5. Grażyna Ojrzyńska*
The Silver Cross of Merit
6. Małgorzata Andrzejewska-Psarska

*absent at the ceremony – to receive the decoration at a later date

Among the decorated were: Stanisław Laska, who helped a ten-year-old fugitive from the Łódź ghetto; Anna Iwaszkiewiczowa (posthumously) – writer and translator, wife of author Jarosław Iwaszkiewisz, Righteous Among the Nations; and Piotr and Emilia Waszkinel (posthumously), who rescued Romuald Jakub Weksler-Waszkinel, Polish Catholic priest and philosopher of Jewish descent, born in a ghetto near Vilnius, placed under their care by his mother several days before the liquidation of the ghetto.