Marek Rekucki honored in the XXVII edition of the "Preserving Memory" award
On 23.06.2024 at the Galicia Jewish Museum, a ceremony was held to present "Preserving Memory" awards to individuals and institutions of merit in the protection of our country's Jewish heritage.
The "Preserving Memory" program was initiated in 1998 by the American lawyer Michael H. Traison, who selected the first community members nominated for the designation and persuaded his co-partners to join the project.
The recipients of the "Preserving Memory" decoration are selected by a joint decision of representatives of the Israeli Embassy, the Jewish Historical Institute and the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage.
The first edition of the award took place in 1998. This year's edition is the XXVII honoring both individuals and non-governmental organizations, institutions and city authorities.
Our vice president was among the honorees, among whom in previous years were such notables, distinguished for memory and dialogue, as Jan Jagielski, Janusz Poniewierski, Krzysztof Bielawski, Bogdan Białek and Karolina Panz.
We have been working in this field for many years, but it is thanks to the actions of Marek Rekucki, his bold vision and determinedly won grants, that we have been able to give a new dimension to our activities. It is to him, among other things, that we owe the possibility of carrying out such important for the local community, educational projects, commemorations, and now the renovation of the Jewish cemetery in Mszana Dolna. Also the Holocaust anniversary celebrations, which integrate the current residents of the town with the descendants of the survivors connected with Mszana Dolna by birth or wartime fate, are to a great extent the result of his hard work and dreams.
We also want to thank him for this here, on such a pleasant occasion!
For us, this is the second award; in 2021, during the 24th Edition, Urszula Antosz-Rekucka was honored.
During the Galicia Museum gala, we had the honor of meeting both Mr. Michael Traison, as well as Prof. Webber and his wife, and many other distinguished guests. We were happy to bestow upon them the 2nd edition of our monograph on the Jewish cemetery in Mszana Dolna, authored by Urszula Antosz-Rekucka and Jolanta Kruszniewska.
Congratulations to all the awardees of today and previous editions! None of us work in this important, but very difficult subject, for awards. However, they are an affirmation of the rightness of actions to serve both memory and a better future
