– In an unusual gesture, the president of Poland published a long statement eulogizing a Holocaust survivor who was among a handful of people to have escaped the Sobibor death camp in the country’s east.

Andrzej Duda published his 650-word eulogy of Filip Białowicz on the president’s official website on Friday.

“We are saying goodbye to an ardent advocate of mutual friendship and respect among nations, religions and world views,” Duda wrote about Białowicz, who died Aug. 6 in Florida, where he lived, at 90. His death, Duda added, marks the passing of a “person who did much to ensure that the crime of the Holocaust forever remains a closed chapter of history. So that nobody, under no circumstances, experiences it ever again.“

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Białowicz and his older brother, Symcha, escaped from Sobibor along with 300 other Jewish prisoners after staging a well-planned rebellion in which the death camp’s German guards were killed. Most of the prisoners were recaptured and killed, but the brothers Białowicz were among a few dozen who got away. Symcha Białowicz died in Israel in 2014.

Filip Bailowicz spoke frequently about the Nazi death machine and in 2010 published a memoir titled “A Promise at Sobibor.”

Duda added in his passionate eulogy, which was unusual both in length and tone: “It is with utmost reverence that I reflect upon his involvement in the community live, his lectures, meetings with the youth, his multiple visits to Poland. I admired his deeply wise and balanced view of the past and present of Jews, Poles, Germans, Americans, and last but not least, of the entire humanity who, until today, dwells on the tragedy of the Holocaust.”

Jonny Daniels, founder of the From the Depths Holocaust commemoration group in Poland, called “this extraordinary gesture” by Duda “heartwarming.” Daniels said the eulogy, addressed to Białowicz’s family, is “symbolic of President Duda’s continued efforts to bring the Jewish and Polish nations closer.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount