The exhibit “They Risked Their Lives—Poles Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust,” currently on view at the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center (HMLC), will run through Sunday, Nov. 22. A special program and reception will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29 at the HMLC, located in the Jewish Federation building, 12 Millstone Campus Dr.

The exhibit honors the Polish Righteous Among the Nations, men and women living in German-occupied Poland during WWII who demonstrated extraordinary courage and risked their lives — and the lives of their families — by rescuing Jews during the Holocaust.

Paulina Kapuscinska, Polish Consul General, says “this exhibit’s mission is to teach about the virtues of courage and self-sacrifice. It also shows how a single person’s life choices can change history for entire generations of people.”  According to Kapuscinska, Polish citizens were the only people in the entire Nazi-occupied territory who were punished by death for helping Jews. Over 20,000 people worldwide have been honored by the State of Israel as the Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jewish lives from the Holocaust, and nearly 6,500 were Poles, the highest number from any country.

The program on Thursday, Oct. 29 will feature greetings by Konrad Zielinski, Vice Consul, Culture, Education and Media, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago. Zielinski’s remarks will be followed by a presentation, Remembering the Righteous Poles by child survivor Felicia Graber, who will share the powerful story of how her family survived the Holocaust with the help of righteous Poles. A reception will follow the program; dietary laws observed.

To RSVP of for further information, please call 314-442-3711 or email [email protected].

This exhibition was sponsored by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago. The St. Louis installation was supported by the Gloria and Rubin (z’’l) Feldman Education Institute of the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center.