B’nai B’rith International hosted its fourth consecutive Gratitude Awards ceremony on June 28, at the Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin, in Lublin, Poland. The award, called Wdzięczność-Gratitude-הכרת הטוב in Polish, English and Hebrew, recognizes Polish citizens and institutions who have shown exceptional commitment to preserving Jewish heritage in Poland and cultivating Jewish-Polish relations.

The ceremony included speeches by B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, B’nai B’rith Poland President Andrzej Friedman and the Israeli Ambassador to Poland Yaakov Finkelstein.

2026 Recipients of the award were:

Individual category: Wojciech Michał Lemański, Zbigniew J. Nita and Jakub Wójcik

Institutional category: Sitwa Organization

The award included a unique statuette and certificate designed by graphic artist Klara Jankiewicz and is presented in honor of Marian Turski (1926-2025), a Polish-Jewish journalist, historian, Holocaust survivor and a member of the B’nai B’rith Poland lodge.

Wojciech Michał Lemański

Lemański, a Roman Catholic priest, was recognized for more than two decades of weekly commemorations honoring Holocaust victims at sites including Treblinka, Szczuczyn, Radziłów, Wąsosz and Bzury, as well as for his steadfast advocacy of Polish-Jewish dialogue despite conflicts with church authorities. Lemański wrote a letter noting he felt “surprised and honored to be included among those honored with the distinction you have bestowed. I am an ordinary Polish Catholic priest who, some time ago, noticed Jewish graves and decided that he could not pass them by indifferently. We all know that there are countless Jewish graves on Polish soil. Those marked, those hidden, those nameless, and those honored with monuments. I first heard about the Jews in Otwock, Tłuszcz, Łódź, Warsaw, Jadów, Falenica, Karczew, only at the turn of the century, as an adult. My guides on this completely unfamiliar path led me to places I had never known before. They opened my eyes to the tragedies of people I had heard or read about for the first time. And so began a new phase of my life’s journey. A journey along Polish roads, as an ordinary Catholic priest.”

Samuel Maruszewski

Maruszewski, a representative of the grassroots initiative Sitwa, accepted the award on behalf of the organization, which was recognized for its efforts to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in Poland through public engagement, outreach to local authorities and community initiatives. Maruszewski stated, “It is said that every generation must overcome its own iteration of hatred toward B’nai Israel. As the Passover Haggadah states, ‘For not only one has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us.’”

He added, “In our generation, this iteration manifests predominantly as anti-Zionism. Beneath the high-minded rhetoric of human rights, it conceals genocidal exterminationism. Anti-Zionism is not a legitimate political stance; anti-Zionism is not merely a critique of the Israeli government. Anti-Zionism is a racist ideology of hatred directed against the right of the Jewish people to exist as a nation. Today, the top universities in Poland compete to frame their hatred of Jews as morally justified. Because overt racism and religious persecution are unacceptable today, anti-Jewish hatred is couched in the virtuous nomenclature of humanitarianism and human rights. Anti-Israel slanders fabricated in the genocidal Soviet Union and in those Arab states that provided refuge to fugitive Nazis after World War II are now uncritically parroted by students in humanities departments. This replication, however, bears no relation to the ethos of science: it lacks falsification, empirical verification, and external coherence with other fields of knowledge, as well as common sense. It is, quite simply, anti-scientific jargon.”

Zbigniew J. Nita

Nita, a historian, journalist and photographer, was recognized for years of consistent work to preserve Jewish memory in Poland and promote shared Polish-Jewish heritage through historical research, photography and educational initiatives. He is the initiator and co-founder of the Ławeczka Dialogu (Dialogue Bench) Association, which works to protect Jewish memorial sites, preserve historical heritage and deepen Polish-Jewish dialogue.

Nita recalled, “For many years after the tragedy of the Holocaust, it seemed that no material evidence of the centuries-long presence of people who, on the eve of World War II, constituted almost half of the town’s population remained in Janów. It is important, now, when brutal and primitive anti-Semitism is returning with renewed force, when racial, religious, political, and social hate speech is becoming the hallmark of today’s so-called elites, to say loudly, clearly, and fearlessly: We do not accept this! We must say this especially to the youth, both Polish and Israeli, Jewish…”

Jakub Wojcik

Wojcik, a local activist from Grójec, Poland, was recognized for documenting the city’s Jewish history, organizing Jewish cemetery cleanups and leading annual ceremonies commemorating the liquidation of the Grójec Ghetto. Wojcik noted that “In Grójec we have had tensions between Poles and Jews, but those were our internal tensions, like at home one might have tensions with family. But the Germans killed 60% of our town’s population, our neighbors. I am angry over this; one does not simply mess with us. Those were OUR people.”

Ambassador Yaakov Finkelstein

Israeli Ambassador to Poland Yaakov Finkelstein said, “The State of Israel is grateful to all the people around the world and in Poland who are dedicated to preserving Jewish heritage. They are not doing it for the Jews but to benefit their own communities. It is important that your labor of love will be seen and acknowledged because all over the world the discourse of hate dominates the public sphere. Some people are trying to divide Poles and Jews. Others will be inspired by what you do; you are the beautiful face of Poland. I thank B’nai B’rith for this wonderful initiative and encourage you to continue to recognize people dedicated to this important cause.”

Ambassador Maciej Hunia

Ambassador Maciej Hunia, Poland’s ambassador to Israel, addressed the awardees in a recorded message. , “Your work is an expression of courage, perseverance and a profound sense of responsibility for preserving memory and historical truth. Each of the laureates, in their own way, undertakes the important task of safeguarding the heritage of Polish Jews and building bridges between Poles and Jews and between Poland and Israel.”

Hunia continued, “Your work is often quiet and sometimes requires the readiness to face misunderstanding. That makes it all the more worthy of respect. Without dialogue there can be no lasting reconciliation and no responsibly built future. The Gratitude Award encourages others to take action. Through this award, memory remains alive and values such as responsibility, solidarity and respect find tangible expression, It is a reminder that Polish-Jewish relations are a shared history which we must care for with sensitivity, openness and responsibility.”

Daniel S. Mariaschin

B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin noted, “B’nai B’rith was the largest membership organization in Europe before the Holocaust. Memory is important to B’nai B’rith and the Jewish people. We sincerely thank the individuals and entities recognized this year and in previous years from the bottom of our hearts for their dedication to preserving Jewish heritage in their local communities.”

Andrzej Friedman

B’nai B’rith Poland President Professor Andrzej Friedman said, “For the second year, this award is named after our late brother Marian Turski, Lodz ghetto resident, Auschwitz prisoner and Holocaust survivor, who passed away one and a half years ago.” He highlighted the 85th anniversary of Jedwabne and invited all to attend the 80th anniversary commemoration ceremony of the Kielce pogrom, to be held in Kielce.

Alan Schneider

B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider said, “It bares mentioning that Poland is the only country in which B’nai B’rith has a project like the Gratitude Award, not because there are no other countries in which non-Jews engage in preserving Jewish heritage and promoting relations with the Jewish community, but because of the special position of Poland as the country that had the largest and most significant presence in Europe for the longest period and was wiped out—practically leaving no human or physical trace in many places.”

Schneider continued, “Gratitude (Hakarat HaTov—literally “recognizing the good”) is a core value in Judaism and Jewish law (Halakha). It is a moral obligation to appreciate, remember and thank anyone who helps us. This value begins with thanking God, and extends to parents, teachers and anyone who assists us in daily life.

In Jewish tradition, gratitude is far more than politeness. It holds a binding legal status. Sages taught that one who denies the good done by a friend will ultimately deny the good done by God. Gratitude to people is the foundation of faith—and we consider all of the Gratitude Award winners as our dear, dear friends. The ongoing anti-Semitism in Poland is the atmosphere in which our award winners are working—and succeeding—to preserve the heritage of a nearly vanished people and to build bridges to the world’s largest concentration of Jews in the world—the State Israel. We salute your courage and persistence.”