- The Polish Museum is protected heritage. We can discuss various options but closing down the museum is not one of them, -  said Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk. In his view, attempts to transform Rapperswil Castle into a catering establishment pose the greatest problem for Polish-Swiss relations that impedes their development.  - We do hope a mutually satisfactory solution can be reached, -  added the deputy MFA chief during his meeting with Switzerland’s State Secretary Roberto Balzaretti.

 On the same day Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk handed Daniel Pfirter his nomination as the Polish Honorary Consul in Basel and attended the launch of the Honorary Consulate in Basel whose district will cover Switzerland’s north-western cantons. Prior to these events, the deputy minister, together with Roberto Balzaretti, visited the Jewish Museum to see an exhibition devoted to Aleksander Ładoś and his fellow diplomats who saved Jews from the Holocaust.

On the second day of the visit, the deputy minister attended a ceremony to open the new premises of the Polish Embassy, a 1907 villa which from Tuesday 10 March 2020 replaced the old building that was erected in the 1960s. A former seat of the trade office for many years, the villa has undergone a major renovation that started in 2017 and adapted the building to its function as a diplomatic mission.

 At the Polish ambassador’s residence situated next to the Embassy, Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk inaugurated the Aleksander Ładoś exhibition room. Created thanks to the efforts of the Pilecki Institute, the exhibition room is located in the Polish diplomat’s former office which was the actual headquarters of the rescue operation. “Aleksander Ładoś is the pride of Polish diplomacy, while his team’s efforts and ties with other missions prove that the Polish government was greatly committed to helping Jews,” said the deputy MFA head.

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Press Office 

Photo: MFA