With real joy and pride we have received the information that the Chairman of the Council of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe - Professor Waldemar Czachur and the Managing Director of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe - Dr Robert Żurek were among the fifty personalities described as 'verdiente Versöhner', i.e. people who have merited the benefit of German-Polish reconciliation. In a letter sent by the German Ambassador to Poland, Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, to both of the honoured persons, their merits in building a German-Polish understanding were highlighted through, among other things, their involvement in the activities of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe.
Usually, when you open something, the ribbon is cut. But we came up with the idea that there would be no cutting, only tying. Two groups of children with two ribbons in the colors of both countries left the stage, and the two prime ministers came together and tied them with a knot. I believe it was a very significant moment: we start - we tie. Dr. Ewa Unger on the official opening of the Krzyżowa Foundation Center in 1998.
This year we had to say goodbye to Dr. Ewa Unger - co-founder of the Krzyżowa Foundation. Let her words be a message to us. When there's so much discouragement, anxiety, conflict around - let's tie! Let us take care of our relations, let us support each other, let us create a space of respect and understanding.
This is what we wish You - Our Friends and Partners - on the occasion of Christmas and the upcoming New Year.
The Management Board and Employees of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe
On 5 December 2020, the online election of the members of the Council of the Krzyżowa Foundation for the new cadence took place. The most important body of the Foundation has a maximum of 24 members and is elected for a 5-year term. The new Council will be constituted at its first meeting, scheduled for spring 2021.
We warmly congratulate all those elected and wish them success, effective cooperation and many activities that will contribute to building dialogue and understanding by the Foundation.
The members of the Council of the Krzyżowa Foundation in the new cadence:
Read more: Election of the new Council of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe
The 50th anniversary of Willi Brandt's visit to Warsaw, during which he paid tribute to the fallen Poles in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as well as to the Jews when he knelt down at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, is an opportunity for a broader reflection on Polish-German relations not only in recent decades. It is undertaken by Dr. Robert Żurek, a member of the Management Board and Managing Director of the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe, in his latest article "How Germany changed its course and broke with its negative policy towards Poland".
The article was published on the website Więź.pl.