Children of the Warsaw Ghetto, 1941-1942
A Polish Catholic has been honoured at the Israeli Embassy in Canberra for his effort in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust.
Roman Talikowski, a glove merchant, helped to rescue Jews from Warsaw ghetto by organising safe houses and smuggling food and money for the persecuted Jews. Although he risked the punishment of death, Mr Talikowski survived the war and lived until the 1970s, with his family now living in Australia.
At a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Mr Talikowshi was given the title of “righteous among the nations” by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Centre, the Centre’s highest award for non-Jews. The award was posthumously bestowed on Mr Talikowski in a ceremony attended by his son Jack Talikowski and other family members.
The Israeli ambassador to Australia, Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, spoke of Mr Talikowski’s bravery in the face of horror. Mr 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.”
The ceremony also featured a video message from Joasia Przygoda, a Jewish woman rescued by Mr Talikowski. Ms Przygoda was a baby at the time of her rescue, smuggled in a backpack through Nazi checkpoints in the Warsaw ghetto. Ms Przgoda thanked him for being “open-minded enough” to rescue those of a different religion.
Read more via the Canberra Times
