Polish Righteous in Padua

red., 16 November 2016
On 30 January 2010 the grand opening of the exhibition commemorating the International Memorial Day of Holocaust took place in the Great Synagogue in Padua (Italy). Part of the exhibition was a multimedia presentation on the Polish Righteous among the Nations, entitled “Restoring Memory: Polish Rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust”. The presentation was prepared within the framework of the Polish Righteous – Restoring Memory program.

In response to the invitation issued by the Italian party, the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland in cooperation with the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum prepared a special program, featuring a two-part exhibition and a series of meetings devoted to the Memorial Day in Padua.

The exhibition was opened by: Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka – Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Flavio Zanonato – Mayor of the City of Padua, Davide Romanin Jacur – President of the Jewish Community in Padua, Ewa Wierzyńska – Deputy Director of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Piotr Cywiński – Director of Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, prof. Giuliano Pisani – Director of the Program Giardino dei Giusti del Mondo – Garden of the Righteous of the World and Ewa Piacentile – Chairman of the Polish-Italian Association in Padua.

Director Wierzyńska described the project of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and said a few words about the Polish Righteous – Restoring Memory program, i.e. about its guidelines, goals and up-to-date achievements. She also introduced the profiles of the Polish Righteous who constitute our national treasure. Thanks to the multimedia presentation, the audience could examine their countenances and learn about their deeds.

The exhibition consisted of two parts:
I The Nazi German extermination camp Konzentrationslager Auschwitz – board exhibition
II Restoring Memory – Polish Rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust – multimedia presentation. One of the elements of the exhibition was the movie produced by Ewa Zadrzyńska, belonging to the series of movies “Poetry connects people”. The movie is entitled “Ten jest z ojczyzny mojej” [“He is my brother”]. By introducing the profile of a young Polish girl, the granddaughter of the Poles who were awarded medals for rescuing Jewish fellow-citizens, the film presents the lesson, which for the young generation is the heritage of the Righteous among the Nations.

Both the Polish delegation’s visit to Padua and the events accompanying the exposition attracted the press and were noted down in Padua newspapers. After a six-week display in Padua, the exhibition will move to other Italian locations. The following cities expressed their interest in hosting the exhibition: Trieste, Venice, Mantua, Modena, Ferrara, Turin, Reggio Calabria and Catania.