Yesterday, September 23, a ceremony was held in the Garden of the Righteous to unveil plaques and plant trees commemorating seven more individuals honored with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. Representatives of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum attended the ceremony.
The Garden of the Righteous Committee has selected seven more individuals to be honored in 2020 and 2021: Hrant Dink, Julia Ilisińska, Karol Modzelewski, Stanisław Yevgrafowicz Petrov, Antonina Wyrzykowska, Liu Xiaobo, and Emanuel Ringelblum. The latter was the initiator of the Oneg Shabbat group and the creator of the underground archive of the Warsaw Ghetto.
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The Righteous are those who stood up for human dignity during wars and atrocities in the 20th and 21st centuries. In their honor, March 6 was established as European Day of Remembrance for the Righteous. This decision was made by the European Parliament in May 2012 at the initiative of the Italian-based Committee of the World Garden of the Righteous (GARIWO).
Only deceased individuals are honored with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. The title is awarded for a specific deed. The selection of three individuals from among those nominated, who are commemorated in the Warsaw Garden of the Righteous, is made by the Warsaw Garden of the Righteous Committee, which includes prominent figures from the worlds of education and culture, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and public administration.
The first Polish Garden of the Righteous was established in 2014 at the initiative of the History Meeting House and the Italian Gariwo Foundation, with the support of the Mayor of the Wola District and Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, who was unanimously elected the first chairman of the Warsaw Garden of the Righteous Committee. Those honored so far include Jan Karski, Marek Edelman, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Anna Politkowska, Magdalena Grodzka-Gużkowska, Antonia Locatelli, Petro Hryhorenko, Nelson Mandela, Hasan Mazhar, Władysław Bartoszewski, Witold Pilecki, Father Jan Zieja, Natalia Gorbaniewska, Jan Jelinek, Roberto Kozak, Rafał Lemkin, Armin Wegner, Father Adalbert Wojciech Zink, Ewelina (Ewa) Lipko Lipczyńska, Arsienij Rogiński, and Raoul Wallenberg.
The Warsaw Garden of the Righteous has a special symbolism. It was created on the site of the former ghetto, near the Pawiak prison and St. Augustine's Church, the only building to survive the post-war destruction. It is the only place in Poland that unites the memory of diverse events and experiences – commemorating Righteous of many cultures, faiths, and nationalities. [source: History Meeting House, https://sprawiedliwi.dsh.waw.pl/32-7-edycja-upamietnien-w-warszawskim-ogrodzie-sprawiedliwych,zwyd]
