Warsaw. Fundraising for the monument to Władysław Bartoszewski

We’re organizing a public fundraiser. Not because the city of Warsaw would not lend us money for this monument, but because we want to give citizens a chance to show their respect for Władysław Bartoszewski, for decency – explained Mariusz Malinowski, president of the Władysław Bartoszewski Square Association. – The monument is ready in the form of a sculpture, it stands in the sculptor’s studio. Now the sculptor will work on the mold for casting. We have a building permit and all the documents that will allow us to erect the monument, Malinowski said.

About PLN 180,000 is missing from the full sum. As the president of the Skwer Władysława Bartoszewski Association assured, after the funds are collected, the monument can be erected even within three months.

A fundraiser for the construction of the statue of Władysław Bartoszewski in Warsaw>>>

According to the assumptions of the originators, the monument is to differ from those associated with great historical figures. – It will be a sculpture devoid of pathos, plinths characteristic of historical figures. Here will be young Bartoszewski, captured at an accidental moment, on a bicycle – explained the sculptor Jacek Kiciński last year.

Bartoszewski’s likeness will be based on a photograph taken by one of his friends. We see a young cyclist smiling at the photographer.

– Bartoszewski was photographed when he was 19 years old. It was then that his moral backbone and values ​​were formed – said Malinowski. – Bartoszewski is a model of decency. His saying “it’s worth being decent” was not only a saying for others, but also for himself. He has followed this principle all his life – said the president of the association. This sentence will be the message of the monument.

– We want young people to know what is valuable and what is not. We want to show today’s youth that it is possible to act socially at a young age, just as Bartoszewski acted then – said Mariusz Malinowski, recalling the activities of the “Żegota” organization, which helped Jews.

The life-size sculpture will stand at Bartoszewski Square, at Ogrodowa 6. The place is not accidental. As the organizer of the action explained, Biała Street used to pass this way, which Jews could use to go to the courts. It was excluded from the ghetto during the war.

Next to the figure of the cyclist, there will be an obelisk with a commemorative plaque on which the following text will be placed: “After leaving the concentration camp, young Władysław Bartoszewski became involved in helping the persecuted Jews and working for Poland. He was also able to fight his hatred towards the German nation. lifetime”.