European Remembrance Day of the Righteous

In 2012, the European Parliament proclaimed 6 March as they European Remembrance Day of the Righteous. In order to mark this occasion we are hosting an event dedicated to the exquisite figure of Stefan Sendłak. Janusz Kłapeć PhD, a long time researcher of this topic, is going to discuss the biography and aid initiatives of Stefan Sendłak as well as the commemoration of his deeds. The lecture will be followed by a special guided tour of the former Majdanek camp grounds, which will focus on the broadly understood helped provided to the prisoners by the residents of Lublin.

Important information

Open Events

Event date:06.03.2026 10:00
Place:Visitor Service Centre

Event schedule:

10:00 welcoming remarks and brief introduction

10:05 lecture by Janusz Kłapeć on the history of Stefan Sendłak and his activities aimed at saving Jews

10:40 discussion with Janusz Kłapeć moderated by Marek Duda

11:00-1:30 p.m. “Helping the Prisoners” guided tour

Stefan Sendłak was born in the village of Podtopole near Zamość in 1889. He fought in the 1920 Polish-Bolshevik war, and actively promoted the ideals of protecting the laws of the workmen, farmers, and people in poverty during the time of the Second Polish Republic. He was also a member of the town council in Zamość as a representative of the Polish Socialist Party.

From the very beginning of the German occupation of Poland, Stefan Sendłak was actively engaged in the resistance. He founded the Lublin-Zamość Committee for Helping Jews, that aided 272 people of Jewish origin. Then, he became the head of the local field branch of “Żegota” – the Polish Council to Aid Jews. His helping activities stretched over various areas of occupied Poland, including the labour camp in Lublin’s Lipowa Street. In 1944 he fought in the Warsaw Rising as deputy of the Polish Government regional delegate in District III (Śródmieście-Północ). He was repressed by the communist authorities after we war. Sendłak passed away in 1978. In 2020, he was posthumously awarded the title of the Righteous Among the Nations.

Janusz Kłapeć PhD worked as a researcher at the Institute of History at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (1995-2017), the Institute of National Remembrance – Lublin Office (2018-2024), and since 1 September 2024 works for the Army History Office. He wrote numerous articles devoted to the history of the early 20^th century of Poland and the Lublin region. His research topics include the history of medicine in Polish lands in the 20^th century, activities of welfare and charitable institutions, the fates of Jews during World War II, social history, daily life under the German and Soviet occupations. Currently he is working on monographies on the figure of Stefan Sendłak, and the military aid of Poland, the USA, and other NATO members provided to Ukraine from 24 February 2022.