Monday Jul 14, 2025
NEWSLETTER
www.israelhayom.com
  • Home
  • News
    • Israel
    • Israel at War
    • Middle East
    • United States
  • Opinions
  • Jewish World
    • Archaeology
    • Antisemitism
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture
  • Magazine
    • Feature
    • Analysis
    • Explainer
  • In Memoriam
www.israelhayom.com
  • Home
  • News
    • Israel
    • Israel at War
    • Middle East
    • United States
  • Opinions
  • Jewish World
    • Archaeology
    • Antisemitism
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture
  • Magazine
    • Feature
    • Analysis
    • Explainer
  • In Memoriam
www.israelhayom.com
Home Jewish World

Poles who saved Jews during Holocaust honored in Warsaw

US-based Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, together with American and Israeli diplomats pay respects to the elderly Poles who put their lives in danger to save others. "On behalf of the Jewish people, I thank you for your noble deeds so many years ago, for when most turned their backs on their Jewish neighbors, you did not," says JFR Executive Vice President Stanlee Stahl.

by  Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
Published on  09-09-2019 08:37
Last modified: 10-08-2019 11:49
Poles who saved Jews during Holocaust honored in WarsawAP/Czarek Sokolowski

Janine Mazur, center, listens to speeches during an event to honor Polish people who saved Jews during WWII, in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday | Photo: AP/Czarek Sokolowski

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A US-based Jewish foundation honored Polish gentiles who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, a number that grows smaller each year, with US and Israeli diplomats also paying their respects at the event Sunday in Warsaw to the elderly Poles who put their lives in danger to save others.

Those still living today, 80 years after the start of World War II, were children or young adults during the war and in most cases helped their parents in the dangerous job of hiding and feeding Jews. During the German occupation, those caught aiding Jews were punished with the execution of entire families.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Today, the rescuers are in their 80s and 90s, and they arrived at the event in Warsaw helped by their children, with some in wheelchairs.

"On behalf of the Jewish people, I thank you for your noble deeds so many years ago, for when most turned their backs on their Jewish neighbors, you did not," Stanlee Stahl, the foundation's executive vice president, told those gathered. "You will always be remembered in our prayers, for you didn't just save the Jewish person 75 years ago, you made it possible for generations to be born."

Giving one example, she singled out two brothers in attendance, Andrzej and Leszek Mikolajkow, who with their parents saved a Jewish mother, father and two sons. One of those sons ended up moving to Israel and having 12 sons of his own, and the family today numbers 300.

"You made it possible for hundreds if not thousands of people to be alive today," Stahl said. "You have helped repair the world."

All of the rescuers have been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum and memorial.

According to Yad Vashem's website, 27,362 people have been recognized to date as "Righteous Among the Nations," even though there are certainly many more who helped Jews who haven't been recognized because they were killed or there were no survivors to alert Yad Vashem to their actions. The country with the largest number of acknowledged rescuers, with far over 6,000, is Poland, which was home to Europe's largest Jewish community before World War II.

The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous pays monthly stipends to elderly rescuers in Eastern Europe, many of whom live on pensions of only a few hundred dollars a month in Poland and far less in Ukraine and elsewhere. Last Christmas each rescuer got an additional $1,500, a gesture that goes far beyond just symbolic help, and the group has also helped them with medicines and hearing aids.

Warsaw is the only place in Europe where there are enough of them in one place to bring together. On Sunday, there were about 30 in attendance.

Anna Bando, who heads an organization of the Polish rescuers, thanked the Jewish group for remembering them so many years later, at a time when she says "we are leaving this world" and so many people no longer remember the war. Another rescuer wept at the beginning of the ceremony from the sorrow she felt of so many people of her generation being gone, including the Jewish family she helped save and remained close to for many years. The last member of that group passed away not long ago at age 101.

Due to sanctions on Russian-annexed Crimea, the organization can no longer send money, however, to a small group of rescuers there, a situation that Stahl described as distressing in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Before the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the group was helping five people there.

At one point, she received a letter from a Jewish woman in Israel who was rescued by a woman in Crimea, begging her to send money. But with US sanctions in place, it is illegal to do so.

During the Warsaw event, Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, asked God to bless them, and described them as a "model for the kind of people that God wants us to be."

Israeli Ambassador-designate, Alexandre Ben-Zvi, paid his respects, while the US deputy chief of mission, Bix Aliu, who is of Albanian heritage, paid tribute to their extraordinary courage. In personal remarks, Aliu described meeting an elderly rescuer in Albania, a Muslim majority country that was the only country in Europe where the number of Jews was larger at the end of the war than before due to a nationwide effort to save Jews.

Tags: HolocaustPolandRighteous Among the NationsWarsawWorld War II

Related Posts

'If you come out, it's over for you': Pro-Palestinians terrorize kosher restaurant in AthensCourtesy

'If you come out, it's over for you': Pro-Palestinians terrorize kosher restaurant in Athens

by Hili Yacobi-Handelsman

The attackers sprayed threatening messages, including "Stop the Zionists" and "No Zionist is safe here," across the restaurant's counter and...

Ireland to boycott Jew-owned products from West BankReuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Ireland to boycott Jew-owned products from West Bank

by Hanan Greenwood

This is the first time, it should be noted, that a Western country is considering imposing a legal boycott in...

Michael Rapaport posts AI Holocaust fakeGideon Markowicz

Michael Rapaport posts AI Holocaust fake

by Inbal Chiat

The image, which garnered thousands of likes and shares, was presented as authentic, but the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, the central Holocaust...

Menu

Analysis 

Archaeology

Blogpost

Business & Finance

Culture

Exclusive

Explainer

Environment

 

Features

Health

In Brief

Jewish World

Judea and Samaria

Lifestyle

Cyber & Internet

Sports

 

Diplomacy 

Iran & The Gulf

Gaza Strip

Politics

Shopping

Terms of use

Privacy Policy

Submissions

Contact Us

About Us

The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30, 2007. Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better, more balanced and more accurate journalism. Journalism that speaks, not shouts. Journalism of a different kind. And free of charge.

All rights reserved to Israel Hayom

Hosted by sPD.co.il

  • Home
  • News
    • Israel at War
    • Israel
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Jewish World
    • Archaeology
    • Antisemitism
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture
  • Magazine
    • Feature
    • Analysis
    • Explainer
    • Environment & Wildlife
    • Health & Wellness
  • In Memoriam
  • Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Submit your opinion
  • Terms and conditions

All rights reserved to Israel Hayom

Hosted by sPD.co.il

Newsletter

[contact-form-7 id=”508379″ html_id=”isrh_form_Newsletter_en” title=”newsletter_subscribe”]

  • Home
  • News
    • Israel at War
    • Israel
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Jewish World
    • Archaeology
    • Antisemitism
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Culture
  • Magazine
    • Feature
    • Analysis
    • Explainer
    • Environment & Wildlife
    • Health & Wellness
  • In Memoriam
  • Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Submit your opinion
  • Terms and conditions

All rights reserved to Israel Hayom

Hosted by sPD.co.il