International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Wellington
27.01.2025
At the International Holocaust Remembrance Day event held at New Zealand Parliament on January 27, in the presence of New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Poland was represented by chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Republic of Poland to New Zealand Mr Patryk Błaszczak.
The event featured a special guest, Ms Eileen Silestean (b. 1926), one of the Deckston children, Polish Jewish orphans from Białystok brought to New Zealand between 1935 and 1937 by Anna and Max Deckston, a wealthy Jewish couple who set up a home for the children in Wellington, thus saving them from the Holocaust, without realising it at the time.
Mr Patryk Błaszczak assisted Ms Silestean in lighting a candle in memory of all who perished during the Holocaust.
When asked if she remembered any Polish, Ms Silestean said "jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, póki my żyjemy", meaning "Poland has not yet succumbed, as long as we remain", which is the opening line of the Polish anthem.
The event marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, where over 1.1 million people lost their lives.
Photos © Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
