Embassy honours righteous rescuer
A POLISH Catholic merchant who risked his life to save Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II was honoured at a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Canberra on Tuesday.
A POLISH Catholic merchant who risked his life to save Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II was honoured at a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Canberra on Tuesday.
The late Roman Talikowski has been recognised by Yad Vashem and the State of Israel as a Righteous Among the Nations – the highest award bestowed upon gentiles for bravery in helping Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Talikowski’s award was accepted by his son Jack, who travelled from Perth for the event, along with several relatives.
“This is a big honour for my family, definitely,” Jack told The AJN. “It’s very humbling how this happened to us. Because when my father lived, he didn’t tell us much about it.”
The story, which the family now knows well, is that of a man who smuggled food and money into the Warsaw Ghetto. Furthermore, he facilitated the escape of Jews trapped inside and organised false papers and safe houses – all actions which put him at risk of the death penalty.
“Roman’s actions showed the best of humanity when the worst qualities of mankind had consumed his society,” Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Shmuel Ben-Shmuel said.
“He found courage when others were paralysed by fear and made a stand against violence and atrocities … He had the conviction to act upon what he knew was right.”
A pre-recorded video message from Holocaust survivor Joasia Przygoda was shown at the ceremony, in which she recounted the harrowing story of being drugged as an infant, hidden in a backpack and smuggled out of the ghetto by Talikowski, who bribed his way through Nazi checkpoints.
Talikowski, who was a friend of Przygoda’s father, organised a hiding place outside of the ghetto for the family.
Had he been alive today, Jack expects his father would have been “very surprised” to be honoured as such, noting that he never sought any fanfare. “He regarded the situation as helping his friend.”
Polish Ambassador to Australia Pawel Milewski attended on the day, along with representatives from the Polish, Catholic and Jewish communities.
Speaking at the ceremony, president of the ACT Jewish Community Robert Cussel insisted it is important the world remembers stories such as that of Talikowski.
“Perhaps the greatest act of courage is the willingness to take action when the intolerance, the hatred and the oppression have been mindlessly accepted by so many. To act under such circumstances is truly remarkable,” Cussel said.
PHOEBE ROTH
Jack Talikowski (left) receives his late father’s Righteous Among the Nations award from Shmuel Ben-Shmuel. Photo: Embassy of Israel.
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