“He who saves one life saves the whole world.” The saying from the Talmud is printed on a medal that the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center in Jerusalem awards to the righteous. So far, the title of Righteous Among the Nations has been awarded to more than 24,000 people from 47 countries, including more than 6,400 Poles.
The exhibition was prepared by POLIN – Museum of the History of Polish Jews from Warsaw in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. The exhibition tells the stories of Polish Righteous Among the Nations who helped Jews in occupied Poland during World War II. The righteous risked both their lives and the lives of their family members, as helping the Jews was punishable by death. Because of their courage and selflessness, they managed to save tens of thousands of Polish Jews.
Today, only a handful of Polish Righteous Among the Nations are still alive. Most of them are elderly people who are still strong enough to tell their stories and the stories of the people they saved. Testimonies about people’s personal experiences have a unique scientific value. The number of Poles awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations continues to grow, as the title of Righteous Among the Nations can be awarded even after death.
The exhibition, which has traveled around the world since 2013 and stopped here this time, was created on the basis of the collection of the museum project Polish Righteous – Preservation of Memory (www.sprawiedliwi.org.pl).
The audience was addressed at the opening by the exhibition’s honorary patron dr. Andrej Fištravec, Mayor of the Municipality of Maribor, His Excellency mr. Pawel Czerwinski, Polish Ambassador, and His Excellency mr. Shmuel Meirom, Israeli Ambassador. The exhibition was presented by dr. Krzysztof Bielawski from POLIN Museum. In the cultural program, the students of II. gymnasium Maribor, who also coordinated the event.
The exhibition will be on display in the Maribor Synagogue until 20 April 2016, from Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
