Polish WWII diplomat named Righteous Among Nations for saving Jews

The diplomat, Konstanty Rokicki (1899-1958), during World War II was part of an informal group based in Bern, Switzerland, that fabricated passports for Jews from ghettos in German-occupied Poland to save them from the Holocaust.

The Bern-based group, led by the Polish ambassador to Switzerland at the time, Aleksander Ładoś, and including Stefan Ryniewicz and Juliusz Kuehl, is credited with helping hundreds of Jews escape from Poland at a time when the country was under Nazi German occupation, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency has reported.

After nearly 75 years Poland’s government in August last year said it had recovered a historical archive documenting the effort in which its diplomats helped rescue Jews from the Holocaust during World War II.

The collection originally belonged to Chaim Eiss (1867-1943), an Orthodox Jewish activist who was a member of the Bern-based group led by Ładoś.

It is estimated that the diplomats produced from several hundred to several thousand fake passports between 1941 and 1943.

Poland’s president in October unveiled a new tombstone at a Swiss cemetery for Rokicki.

The Righteous Among the Nations award is the highest Israeli civilian distinction. Recipients receive a medal with a quote from the Talmud saying: "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."

A total of 26,973 people from various countries, including 6,863 Poles, had received the honour by January 1 last year.

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Source: IAR, yadvashem.org