Danuta Renk-Mikulska receives the Righteous Medal in Chicago

KJ, 16 November 2016
On Tuesday, 23 July 2013, the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, on the outskirts of Chicago, Danuta Renk-Mikulska was awarded the title of the Righteous Among the Nations. During WWII, together with her parents and brothers and sisters, she helped five Jews in the Podlasie region.

The award was presented by the Israeli Consul General to the West, Roey Gilad. The ceremony was attended by Isaac Mekel, a delegate from the Yad Vashelm American Society, and Richard Hirschhaut, the President of the Museum. Poland was represented by Paulina Kapuścińska, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago.

The Mikulskis lived in a forester’s lodge by Biłgoraj-Zwierzynice route, in the village of Wola Duża. In 1942, the family hosted two young Jewish women, Lila Stern and Rywka Weinberg, who escaped from the Biłgoraj ghetto. Shortly afterwards, they also took care of other three adult Jews, friends from before the war, Bencjon Rosenbaum and his nephews, Chaim and Perla Kenig.

All charges survived the war. The survivors requested that Danuta’s parents and her oldest brother be awarded the Righteous medal in 1966. Danuta and her sisters were accorded the medal later. Danuta received the medal in person during the ceremony which took place last week.

Read more about the Mikulski family.