Aleksander Kwaśniewski honored with the Irena Sendler Memorial Award

Aleksander Kwaśniewski was awarded for his activity for the rescuing of Jewish heritage in Poland. Among his biggest merits in this area are: the initiation of the process of restoring Polish citizenship to those who were deprived of it during the Polish People’s Republic, the participation in the 60th anniversary of the pogrom of Jews in Jedwabne, and the support for the construction of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

The Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture supports initiatives devoted to the reinforcing of Jewish identity and, above all, activity focused on the rescuing of Jewish heritage. Its founder is Tad Taube, Honorary Consul for the San Francisco peninsula region and one of the main benefactors of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Irena Sendler Memorial Award was created by the Foundation in 2008 in order to award those who actively support the revival of Jewish life in Poland. In 2009 its winner was Jan Jagielski from the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, creator and director of the department of the documentation of Jewish monuments in Poland.

The award was named after Irena Sendler, activist of the underground Council to Aid Jews “Żegota”, a hero who saved 2,500 children during the Second World War. In 2007 the Righteous Among the Nations was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. She passed away on May 12, 2008 in Warsaw, at the age of 98.