Welcome to the official website of the International Committee of the Ładoś Group

 

I am my brother’s keeper.”

- Genesis 4:9

Introduction

The Ładoś Group consisted of members of the Polish legation in Bern, Switzerland, (Aleksander Ładoś, Konstanty Rokicki, Stefan Ryniewicz, Juliusz Kühl) and Jewish rescuers (Chaim Eiss, Abraham Silberschein). They worked extensively with additional Jewish rescuers (e.g. Recha and Yitzchak Sternbuch, Alfred Schwarzbaum, Nathan Schwalbe, Jakob Blechner) and many still unknown smugglers and couriers throughout Europe. During World War II, from 1941 to 1943, the Group illegally issued thousands of Latin American passports and transit documents for Jews in occupied Europe. For many, these were life-saving documents as they connected these Jews to neutral countries, and often confirmed their citizenship While these documents did not guarantee life, they did increase the chances of survival, as numerous individuals and families were withdrawn from transports to extermination camps and were instead brought to internment camps.

Dedication

This website is lovingly dedicated to the courageous men and women who said yes to life. May their memory be a blessing and their brave actions a continuing inspiration.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to the Pilecki Institute and the members of the International Committee for the Lados Group for their continuing research and dissemination of the story of Polish diplomatic rescuers.

  • Sebastian Lados

  • Monika Maniewski

Thanks also to Amy Fiske for her thoughtful design of this website.