Presentation of This Year’s “Preservation of Memory” Award

KJ, 16 November 2016
The “Preservation of Memory” Award ceremony took place on Sunday 8th July at the Galicia Museum in Kraków. It is awarded to Poles who are actively involved in the preservation of the Jewish legacy of Poland and in Polish-Jewish dialogue.

Initiated by Michael H.Traison, the Award has been presented annually since 1998. To date, 170 Poles have been presented with the Award.

The Award is aimed at furthering the discovery of the legacy of Polish Jews, preserving it and teaching others about it. Important partners in the Award presentation include the Israeli Embassy in Poland, , the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków, the Jewish Community Centre in Kraków and the Michael Michael Traison Foundation for Poland.

Those presented with the award this year were Wanda Cebulka of Grodkowa, author of the monograph “The Jewish History of Śląsk, with Particular Reference to Grodkowa and its Surroundings from the 12th to the  20th Century "; Agnieszka Piśkiewicz of Szczekocin,  author and translator of books regarding the Holocaust, co-organiser of the Szczekocin Festival of Jewish Culture; Methodist Pastor Jarosław Bator and  the Mayor of Puław, Janusz Grobel, for the restoration of a destroyed monument which commemorated the Puław Jewish community.

Others to receive the Award were Damian Lewandowski of Seroczyn (Siedlecki District), co-author of many works about Seroczyn, particularly regarding the Jewish community; Mirosława Kędzior and  Janusz Korbecki of Rzeszów, who together organise the annual Rzeszów memorial March on the anniversary of the liquidation of the ghetto; Andrzej Potocki, a journalist of Rzeszów, for his works devoted to the regional history of the Jewish community in Podkarpacie. An Award was also presented to the “Horizon” Local Initiatives Society of Jastrowie for maintaining the Jastrowie Jewish Cemetery.