Righteous Among the Nations Medal Award Ceremony in Warsaw

Mateusz Szczepaniak, 16 November 2016
On 6th July 2016, Warsaw's Nożyk Synagogue was the setting for a ceremony during which Helena Jagodzińska and Stanisław Pachnik were honoured, posthumously, with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. This is the fourth such ceremony to have taken place over the past month.

Participants in the ceremony included the Israeli Ambassador to Poland Anna Azari, Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich, the Chairperson of the Warsaw Jewish Community Council Anna Chipczyńska and relatives of those being honoured as Righteous. The family of survivor Maurice (Moshe) Chandler also attended, even though he was unable to make the trip to Poland.

"The Righteous are a part of our Jewish community", said Anna Chipczyńska. "I hope that the relatives of our heroes, who are present today, will also feel that they are a part of our community”.

Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich stressed that "thanks to the Righteous, we are able to understand what it is means to be a human being”.

The family of Maurice Chandler spoke in honour of the heroes.

"In the face of evil, Helena and Stanisław displayed goodness. Thanks to them, my grandfather could survive and my family could exist”, said Maurice's granddaughter. "Their immense sacrifice will never be forgotten. I will try to follow their example in my own life, to help those in need”.

Eveline Dennis Rosen pointed out that her father, "when talking about his wartime experiences, always stressed the significance of the help he had received from Helena Jagodzińska and Stanisław Pachnik”.

Before the War, he had lived in Nasielsk. In 1940, at the age of sixteen, he and his entire family found themselves in the Warsaw ghetto. In May of the following year, he, together with his brother and three other boys, managed to get to the "Aryan side". They headed east, looking for work as itinerant farmhands.

Because of the harsh conditions, three of them decided to return to the ghetto. Chandler's brother died from typhus. Shortly after, alone, Maurice came to Helena Jagodzińska's farm in Nasielsk. Together with her cousin Stanisław Pachnik, she hid the boy and obtained false papers for him. These papers helped him to survive. After the War, he left for the United States.

Another participant at the ceremony was Glenn Kurtz, who helped enable Maurice Chandler to again meet his benefactors and to have them acknowledged as Righteous.

During a visit to Nasielsk in 1938, his grandfather had recorded a three-minute film documenting life in his home town. A few years ago, Kurtz endeavoured to identify those shown in the film. He first went to Maurice Chandler who, without any difficulty, identified many of the people. Next, thanks to Polish Television screening the film, he was contacted by the descendants of Helena Jagodzińska.