Poland honours Jewish leader and a diplomat working to recognise Shoah rescuers
Monika Krawczyk and Jakub Kumoch among 17 people recognised with national awards this week
Poland has recognised the head of the nation’s Jewish community and an ambassador working to recognise non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
Monika Krawczyk, president of the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland, and Jakub Kumoch, the ambassador to Switzerland, were among 17 people honoured with national awards on Wednesday for contributing to the development, dissemination and protection of Polish culture.
Krawczyk was honoured in the field of protection of cultural heritage. Speaking at the ceremony at the National Theater in Warsaw, she said it was the first time in her 15 years of work for the heritage of Polish Jews that her efforts have been recognised.
She thanked Minister of Culture Piotr Glinski “on behalf of the entire Jewish community, all Jewish communities in Poland, who have the honour to work for those places of remembrance, historical synagogues, cemeteries, other objects that beautifully decorate our space.”
Kumoch was honoured in the protection of culture heritage abroad category. He is engaged in commemorating Polish Righteous Among the Nations, those honoured by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel for saving Jews during the Holocaust.
“I am honoured to be the successor of an extraordinary man, Aleksander Lados, who, along with his diplomats, did an amazing thing — he tried to save over 8,000 Jews from the Holocaust. He helped save thousands,” Kumoch said in receiving the prize.
Lados was a Polish diplomat in Switzerland who with others issued illegal Latin American passports to Jews from Poland during World War II. In April, Yad Vashem recognised Konstanty Rokicki, who worked with Kados to save Jews, with the Righteous Among the Nations status.
Lados and another member of the group, Stefan Ryniewicz, did not receive the title, spurring a protest by 30 survivors and the Polish honourary consul in Zurich, Markus Blechner.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
