Logo Polskiego Radia

Israel honours Bartoszewski

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 05.05.2015 08:25
The Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, held a special session in tribute to Władysław Bartoszewski on Monday, as Poland laid to rest one of the most important figures of its political and social life of the last seven decades.
The funeral of Władysław Bartoszewski in Warsaw. Photo: Paweł SupernakThe funeral of Władysław Bartoszewski in Warsaw. Photo: Paweł Supernak

In his address, the Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein described Bartoszewski as "a true friend of the Jewish nation."

"His death is a profound loss not only for Poland and Israel but also for the whole of mankind, which lost an important moral authority, a man who did not hesitate to speak his mind, often paying a price for it," he said.

He recalled that during World War II Bartoszewski had been a member of the Polish Underground State's Council to Aid Jews ‘Żegota’ and received the title of the Righteous among the Nations from the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem.

A former prisoner of the Nazi German concentration camp of Auschwitz, he devoted a large part of his life to Holocaust remembrance activities. He was one of the founders of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, whose aim is to preserve and maintain the site of the former camp.

The Knesset Speaker also recalled Władysław Bartoszewski’s frequent visits to Israel, where he had many friends, also before Poland and Israel resumed their diplomatic relations.

Bartoszewski was an honorary citizen of Israel. (mk/nh)

More on Władysław Bartoszewski

tags: Bartoszewski
Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us