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In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Aleksander Ładoś’ death, a politician, diplomat, and leader of the Bernese Group that saved Jews during the Holocaust, President Andrzej Duda laid flowers on his grave at Warsaw’s Powązki Cemetery.
Born in 1891 in Lviv, Ładoś played pivotal roles in Poland’s diplomacy, serving as secretary during peace talks with the Soviet Union, an ambassador to Latvia, and Consul General in Munich. Amidst World War II, he led the Bernese Group, diplomats from the Polish Legation in Bern, and collaborated with Jewish organizations to rescue Jews condemned by the Germans. The group issued illegal passports from Latin American countries, safeguarding Jews from deportation to German death camps.
In 2019, President Duda posthumously honored Ładoś with the Virtus et Fraternitas medal. Despite remaining in exile until 1960, Ładoś’ legacy endures as a symbol of humanitarian courage.