President Joe Biden signed an act in honour of 60 diplomats from 28 countries, including five from Poland, who were rescuing Jews from persecution by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
The Forgotten Heroes of the Holocaust Congressional Gold Medal Act stipulates posthumous award of the Medal to the said diplomats. The honourees include Polish diplomatic officials, namely Henryk Sławik and members of the Ładoś Group: Aleksander Ładoś, Konstanty Rokicki, Stefan Ryniewicz, and Juliusz Kuhl.
According to the reasons behind the Act, the Congressional Gold Medal has been awarded to members of the diplomatic service who “resisted the antisemitic Nazi agenda, risking their families, careers, and lives to help innocent Jewish people flee persecution” and “valiantly defied that systemic hatred by bravely doing what was right to stand up for not only the Jewish community, but of all mankind”. Their help included issuing passports and visas, setting up safehouses and getaways, and cooperating with local communities to aid the persecuted in their escape.
The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the most prominent state decorations in the US (the highest civilian award alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom). Awarded to individuals and institutions with outstanding contributions to the security, glory, and development of the United States, the Medal may only be bestowed with consent from at least 67 Congresspeople, which testifies to its prestigious and special character. Its origins go back to 1776.
