71st Anniversary of the Founding of the Council to Aid Jews “Żegota”

KJ, 16 November 2016
The 71st anniversary of the founding of the Council to Aid Jews “Żegota” was celebrated at the Museum on 4th December. “Żegota” was the only organisation in occupied Europe created with the specific purpose of saving Jews from the Holocaust. Among those present were people involved with “Żegota’s” history, Prof. Władysław Bartoszewski, Elżbieta Ficowska and Hanna Rechowicz, students from the Irena Sendler School, as well as invited guests.

Co-organsers of the event, Acting Director of the Museum, Andrzej Cudak, and Magdalena Księżopolska, Director of the School, opened the event. Among those present were U.S Ambassador  Stephen Mull, Israeli Ambassador Zvi Rav-Ner Ambasador Izraela, Minister Marek Michalak (spokesman for Children’s Rights) and representatives of the city, the Polish Association of the Righteous, and the Children of the Holocaust Association. Honoured guests Prof. Bartoszewski, Ms Ficowska and Ms Rechowicz were then in conversation with Justyna Majewska from the Museum.

Professor Władysław Bartoszewski briefly told the audience of the establishment of the Council to Aid Jews, as well as of the motivations behind his involvement in its activities. He also spoke of his involvement in the organisation of false papers for Jews. He stressed that, despite the fear and an awareness of the great danger, he could not remain indifferent to the Holocaust. He also spoke of his friendship with Irena Sendler and of her noble activities in saving the lives of Jewish children.

Hanna Rechowicz, daughter of Jadwiga Piotrowska, a comrade of Irena Sendler, spoke of her mother’s wartime activities. She stated that, for her mother, helping Jews was an ”obvious” thing to do. Elżbieta Ficowska, saved from the Warsaw ghetto by Irena Sendler, spoke of how she was rescued as an eighteen month old child, smuggled out of the ghetto in a small box and placed with a Polish family. Stanisława Bussoldowa cared for Elżbieta. Ms Ficowska spoke of the difficult process of discovering her true identity – it was only many years after the War that she discovered the story of her rescue and the true identity of her biological family.

Then followed a presentation ceremony to the winners of the Irena Sendler – History, the Present, the Future literary competition for students at the school bearing her name. The competition was organised at School No.65 on the occasion of the school taking Irena Sendler’s name as its patron. Awards were presented by Prof. Bartoszewski who congratulated each of the winners.

Following the ceremony, invited guests, students and representatives of the school laid wreaths at the Żegota monument, located in the square next to the Museum. Some of the students then took part in workshops, organised by the Museum, on the history of the Council to Aid Jews "Żegota".