On September 16 at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Deputy Chief of Mission Eric Green gave remarks at a luncheon honoring the heroism of Polish Righteous who saved Jews during the Holocaust and Nazi occupation of Poland. Sponsored by the New York-based Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR), the luncheon honored the 29 Polish Righteous living in Warsaw who could attend the event. JFR’s President Roman Kent, a Holocaust survivor from Łódż, gave remarks, as did Marian Turski, another Holocaust survivor from Łódż who is the Chairman of the Museum Council for POLIN Museum. Dr. Anna Stupnicka-Bando, President Polish Society of the Righteous Among the Nations also gave remarks at the luncheon that representatives of Poland’s Institute of Solidarity and Bravery also attended. The Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich gave the benediction at the luncheon at the invitation of JFR’s Executive Vice-President Ms. Stanlee Stahl who organized the luncheon. During his remarks, Eric Green told the Polish Righteous that “You risked everything to save the lives of your Jewish neighbors, fully knowing that the Nazis killed anyone who helped Jews. Your deeds helped to preserve our collective humanity – and we are forever in your debt for doing so.”
In 1986 the JFR was established by Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis to seek out and support the Righteous for their exceptional goodness. The organization provides monthly financial support to 330 aged and needy rescuers in 20 countries, including 178 in Poland, which has the greatest number of Righteous Among the Nations of any country in the world at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel. The JFR also preserves the memory and legacy of the rescuers through its national Holocaust education program. The goal of the program is to educate middle and high school teachers about Holocaust history and provide resources to integrate this knowledge into their classrooms. Through this program the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw sponsors Polish teachers to study in the United States. The JFR and the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw also partner on an annual conference held every October at the POLIN Museum to promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance.
Stanlee Stahl of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, Marian Turski, Chairman, POLIN
Roman Kent, President, Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
DCM Eric Green
DCM Eric Green, Alicja Schnepf, Righteous, Ambassador Ryszard Schnepf, former Ambassador from Poland to the US, Stanlee Stahl of the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous
