Holocaust survivor, author, and educator Luna Kaufman, left, receives a medal of honor from Polish
President Bronislaw Komorowski, accompanied by his wife, Anna, and Consul General Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka.
by Elaine Durbach
NJJN Staff Writer
October 19, 2011
Luna Kaufman,
a Polish-born Holocaust survivor and long-time resident of Watchung, has been honored by the Polish government for her efforts
to foster Jewish-Catholic relations and to keep alive the memory of the Shoa and its victims.
In
a ceremony at the Polish consulate in New York City on Sept. 22, Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski presented
her with a Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit in recognition of her “exceptional contribution” to Polish-Jewish
dialogue.
A citation provided by the Polish consulate also thanked Kaufman for all she has
done “to let the world know about the multi-faceted Jewish tradition in Poland.”
Kaufman,
who now lives primarily in Manhattan, was among 27 members of the Polish-American community who were given awards.
“When they gave me the honorary doctorate at Seton Hall in 2009, I thought that was tremendous,”
Kaufman told NJJN, “but this was an even greater thrill.”
Among the other
Jews honored was Manhattan Rabbi Arthur Schneier, founder of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation;
Kaufman, 83, grew up in Cracow and came to the United States in 1952. She survived detention in the Cracow ghetto
and subsequent imprisonment in three different concentration camps. Her mother also survived the war, but her father and
older sister were killed. She has spoken extensively at schools and universities about Jews’ wartime experience in
Poland — describing both the cruelty and the kindness they were shown, and in 2009 published Luna’s Life:
A Journey of Forgiveness and Triumph, her memoir about that time and her experiences since.
Komorowski
and his wife, Anna, were in New York for a three-day visit, during which he addressed the General Assembly of the United
Nations. The theme of his speech was the need for solidarity among nations. During his visit, he visited with firefighters
and
