Polish Heroes: Those Who Rescued Jews

The exhibition Polish Heroes: Those Who Rescued Jews is the cooperative effort of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the Galicia Jewish Museum, and PAJA (the Polish/American/Jewish Alliance for Youth Action). This photographic exhibition is the first stage in an ongoing educational project to pay tribute to the more than 20,000 individuals honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel, paying special attention to over 6,000 Polish recipients.

The exhibit features photographs taken by Chris Schwarz, well-known photographer, founder and director of the Galicia Jewish Museum.

The Righteous Among the Nations award was inaugurated in 1963 by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Israel, to honour non-Jews who had saved Jews during World War II. Since then, over 20,000 people from 42 different countries have received the award. Over 6,000 of them are Polish citizens. Unknown numbers of Jews had also been saved by Poles who never received any formal recognition, many of whom had been killed by the Germans as a result of their efforts.

To learn more about Righteous Among the Nations from the Yad Vashem website click here