The Sousa Mendes Foundation presents Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, world expert on Holocaust rescue, and Ambassador Jakub Kumoch of Poland, who will discuss the film Passports to Paraguay.
This new documentary tells the little-known true story of the “Ładoś group” of Polish citizens in Switzerland — Jews and non-Jews working together — who saved Jews trapped in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1942 by securing for them Paraguayan passports. The Paraguayan government was taken aback by this scheme but was eventually persuaded to go along with it. In the end, passports and other documents from Paraguay and three other Latin American countries were prepared by this group for as many as ten thousand people, of whom 3,253 have now been identified. The film was directed by Robert Kaczmarek and produced by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance. This is a remarkable story that should be widely known.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Dr. Jakub Kumoch is a Polish political scientist and Middle East expert, who served between 2016 and 2020 as Poland’s Ambassador to Switzerland. In 2017, Dr. Kumoch played a decisive role in the discovery of the Ładoś operation. He co-authored the “Ładoś List,” the list of 3,253 names of Jews who were in possession of Ładoś’ passports. He currently serves as the Polish Ambassador to Turkey.
Dr. Mordecai Paldiel headed the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem from 1982-2007. His books include The Path of the Righteous, Sheltering the Jews, Saving the Jews, Diplomat Heroes of the Holocaust, Saving One’s Own: Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust and The Righteous Among the Nations. He currently teaches at Stern College and Touro College and serves on the Board of the Sousa Mendes Foundation.
This free event will be held at 1 pm US Eastern Time, 10 am US Pacific Time.
Pre-registration is required as “seating” is limited by our ZOOM account and will be on a first-come, first served basis.
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