Mazel tov to Katarzyna Laziuk from Minsk Mazowiecki, who has received the 2022 POLIN award presented by the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw! It was the eighth edition of the award.
The Awards, which include a sculpture as well as financial prize, are granted to “individuals, organizations and institutions which are actively engaged in the preservation of the memory of the history of Polish Jews.” The awardees are judged to “have undertaken an important, unconventional action which could potentially bear a lasting effect on the social awareness of the history of Polish Jews as well as on building Polish-Jewish relations.”
Laziuk was awarded “for her efforts in organizing commemoration events, educational trips, visits of Israeli youth to the school where she worked until recently, organizing international projects, and nurturing contacts with the descendants of Minsk Jews.” She was awarded 25,000 zloty (€5,300).
Each received 15,000 zloty (€3,200).
In addition, a Special POLIN Award was presented to The Cukerman’s Gate (Brama Cukerman) Foundation, which for many years has been actively working to restore and protect the memory of Polish Jews in Zagłębie Dabrowskie (Będzin and surrounding areas) and Upper Silesian Jews (Gliwice and surrounding areas).
The winners were chosen from six finalists, out of 117 total applicants.
Finalists Izabela Sekulska, Magdalena Smoczyńska and Michał Szaflarski each received an honorable mention prize of 6,000 zloty (€1,200).
Mazel tov to all!
“Each year, the competition jury faces a particularly difficult task of selecting the finalists,” Radosław Wójcik, Head of 2022 POLIN Award competition, said in statement ahead of the awards ceremony.
This year, we received 117 applications, all of whom deserved recognition. In many towns—bigger and smaller—ceremonies were organised to commemorate 80th anniversaries of the liquidation of the ghettos, accompanied by a great many new initiatives and projects. Among our finalists there are people who act out of the call of their hearts or a sense of mission, sacrificing a lot of their energy and time. In addition to individuals, the jury also shortlisted two organisations for the final of the competition. This goes to show that working together to preserve the heritage of Polish Jews and standing together against indifference and oblivion yields results.
The awards were presented at a Gala ceremony Wednesday night, which was live streamed.
Watch it here:
Read about all the finalists (in English)