About the Polish Righteous in Turin

, 16 November 2016
A lecture on The Polish Righteous – Restoring Memory, as well as a screening of Agnieszka Holland’s film, In Darkness, will take place in Turin next Thursday as part of the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust. The lecture will be presented by Zuzanna Benesz of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The event has been organised by Polish diplomats and their Italian counterparts.

The International Day of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust, in Italy, is always an occasion for organising important cultural events connected with it. The Polish Consul-General in Milanalso took part in the commemorations and, this year, participated in organising the Turin events.

Even though the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust falls on 27th January,  on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp, events commemorating the day take place throughout the world right through January. The lecture and film screening will take place on 31st January.

The Thursday event will be dedicated to the Polish Righteous, namely Poles who saved Jews during World War II. Zuzanna Benesz, representing the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, will speak about the Museum’s Internet project, The Polish Right – Restoring Memory, which documents and preserves the stories of the Righteous. In Italy, the public will have the chance to learn of the Museum’s foundation and activities prior to its opening.

The lecture session will be chaired by Italian Senator Mauro Marino. Others to take part include Olek Mincer, a Polish actor living in Italy who appeared in the film In Darkness, Zuzanna Benesz from the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Dr Marco Brunazzi of the Istituto di Studi Storici Gaetano Salvemini, Dr Liliana Picciotto from the Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea and Gabriele Nissim, President of the Gariwo Foundation.

The idea of screening Agnieszka Holland’s film was put forward by Ulrico Leiss de Leimburg, Honorary Polish Consul in Turin.

Last year, In Darkness was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category. It has received many awards at international film festivals. Leopold Socha, the film’s hero, was one of the 24,000 honoured by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.

The Polish Consul-General in Milan organised the event in co-operation with the Honorary Polish Consul-General in Turin, the Turin City Council, the Museum of Resistance, Deportation, War, Rights and Freedom, the Jewish Community Council in Turin and the Polish Centre in Turin.