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Exhibit honors Polish citizens’ heroic deeds during Holocaust

From left: Dean Lori Goetsch, Provost April Mason, Dean Debbie Mercer, Consul General Paulina Kapuscinska, Megan Stewart Felt, Sabrina Coons Murphy and Norman Conard.

An amazing exhibit will be on display in Hale Library throughout February thanks to the efforts of Susan Yelich Biniecki, assistant professor in the department of educational leadership.

There is much to learn from the Righteous Among the Nations exhibit that honors non-Jews who performed heroic deeds that saved the lives of Jews during the Holocaust. This exhibit is dedicated to Polish citizens living in southern Poland who were conferred with the honorary decoration of Righteous Among the Nations.

One hero’s story could have faded with time if not for teacher Norman Conard in Uniontown, Kan. Four of his students chose to learn more about the Holocaust and began researching a woman named Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic woman who smuggled 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. The students – one of whom went on to graduate from K-State’s College of Education – created a play titled “Life in a Jar.” The play inspired a book, which inspired a movie, and Irena was eventually nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

To arrange a tour for a school or community group, contact Melia Fritch at 785.532.7361 or melia@k-state.edu.