Henryk's Actions and Legacies
"It is a fantastic commentary on the inhumanity of our times that for thousands and thousands of people a piece of paper with a stamp on it is the difference between life and death."
- Dorothy Thompson, American journalist.
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The Polish Flag. |
Because Hungary resented Hitler's move through Hungary into Poland, the Hungarian government was friendly to Polish refugees. With this being so, Henryk, along with Antall and Henryk Zvi Zimmerman, was allowed to create the Citizen's Committee for Help for Polish Refugees.
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"Refugees" Warsaw Ghetto. p.7 |
One of the main jobs of the committee was to provide forged passports and identifications for refugees. Priests helped by issuing false birth certificates for Jews that stated their Catholic backgrounds. The committee also set up jobs and schools for POWs and displaced persons.
Henryk set up an orphanage for Jewish children in Vac, Hungary. To help disguise it, the orphanage was officially called the School for Children of Polish Officers, and Catholic clergy were invited to come and meet with the children. Henryk also was involved in the Polish Government in Exile.
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Symbol for the Polish Resistance. www.symbols.com |
When Germany invaded Hungary in 1944, Henryk ordered all the refugees under him to evacuate Hungary. Eventually, all of Henryk's refugees and orphans were able to escape, and Henryk appointed a new leader of the organization. Unfortunately, Henryk was unable to escape and on March 19, 1944, was arrested.
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The Righteous Among the Nations medal. en.auschwitz.org |
He was tortured by the Gestapo but never gave up his associates' names. He was sent to Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was shot and killed in August 1944.
For years, Henryk's deeds were never brought to light, because of the Communist government in Poland and Hungary, but in 1977, he was honored by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem as a Righteous Gentile. Since then, a book and a video have been made in Poland about his life. But even if his actions had not been brought to light, his legacy of life would still live on through the 30,000 lives he helped save.