Polish Citizens and an Institution Recognized for Preserving Jewish Heritage

Three Polish citizens, along with the Association of the Museum of Białystok Jews, who have shown commitment to preserving Jewish heritage in Poland and cultivating Jewish-Polish relations, were recognized by B’nai B’rith on June 29 at a ceremony at the White Stork Synagogue in Wrocław. The award, in its third consecutive year, is called Wdzięczność-Gratitude-הכרת הטוב in Polish, English and Hebrew.

This year’s award recipients are Robert Kobylarczyk, Andrzej Koraszewski and Ireneusz Socha in the Individual category and the Association of the Museum of Białystok Jews in the Institutional category.

Robert Kobylarczyk initiated a project to commemorate the Jewish cemetery in Tuszyn in 2020. With support from donors, he successfully raised funds to sponsor a five-ton commemorative stone. Andrzej Koraszewski has worked tirelessly for years to combat anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli stereotypes through his writing, website and journalism, most notably in his 2023 book that challenges harmful stereotypes about Jews and Palestinians. Ireneusz Socha has single-handedly dedicated his life to restoring the memory of Dębica’s Jewish community by documenting family stories, organizing educational events and commemorations, creating a Jewish heritage trail, and leading the successful effort to save and restore the New Town Synagogue as a cultural center.

The Association of the Museum of Bialystok Jews created and operates “THE PLACE” museum to preserve and promote the rich Jewish cultural heritage of Białystok through exhibitions, educational programs, research activities and collection of historical artifacts while strengthening Polish-Jewish relations.

The award was 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.

B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin spoke of the significance of the award: “We are the only international Jewish organization to take up this mantle and we are proud to do so in the ancient Jewish tradition of Hakarat Hatov—giving credit where credit is due. The three individuals and one association who will be recognized today will join past winners as outstanding examples of Poles who recognize the tremendous contribution Jews have made to your country and the imperative of keeping alive the embers of what was a flourishing Jewish community until the Holocaust.”

In his remarks, read at the ceremony by Professor Jerzy Ludy on his behalf, Koraszewski detailed his support of Israel’s right to defend itself and how he and his wife have used their website to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel stereotypes: “We try to show the industry of lies, the manipulations of the mainstream media, the infatuation with anti-Zionist propaganda of universities, the hidden influence of Islamic anti-Semitism that destroys the humanity of the youngest generation. We are aware that in the end we convince the convinced, because others do not look for such places just in case. The effectiveness of our actions is, to put it mildly, limited—this action is probably more necessary for us than for anyone else.”

Also addressing the event, B’nai B’rith Senior International Vice President Jacobo Wolkowicz, who was born in Łódź in 1945 and escaped Poland with his immediate family, described the indelible effect the Holocaust had on his personal history, noting that he had not visited the country until today.

“The Gratitude Award was established with the knowledge that many Poles are diligently working to preserve the remnant of the vast Jewish heritage in their country, left dormant, in so many cases, due to the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis,” said Alan Schneider, director, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem, who serves as the award secretariat. “These dedicated people recognize the significant contribution made to Poland by its Jewish citizens in so many walks of life and in defense of the country for over 1,000 years and strive in different ways to ensure that it not be forgotten—in some cases on a local level and in others on a national level.”

B’nai B’rith has been active in independent Poland since 1923. Four B’nai B’rith lodges established at the end of the 19th century out of the 103 lodges in Germany at the time operated in Breslau/ Wrocław until 1937 when they were all shuttered and nationalized by the Nazis in the regime’s first repressive step against the Jewish community.

Members of the award committee are: Professor Andrzej Friedman, president, and Dr. Sergiusz Kowalski, former president and mentor of the B’nai B’rith Warsaw Lodge; Mariaschin; Lili Haber, chair, Association of Cracowians in Israel; Professor Adam Daniel Rotfeld, former Foreign Minister of Poland; Rabbi Eric Fusfield, deputy director, International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy and director of Legislative Affairs, B’nai B’rith International; and Schneider.

Presented for the third consecutive year, it represents the first annual award established by the global Jewish community to honor Poles for their contribution to dialogue and preservation of Jewish heritage in Poland and Jewish-Polish relations. Last year’s winners were Professor Łukasz Tomasz Sroka in the Individual category and the Brama (Gate) Cukermana Foundation in the Institutional category.

To read more about the recipients, click here.