Since 2002, the Institute of National Remembrance has been awarding the Custodian of National Memory Prize, initiated by Janusz Kurtyka and his associates from the Cracow branch of the Institute of National Remembrance. The main idea behind it was to restore respect for the nation’s past and protect the values ​which saw Poland through the years of totalitarian enslavement. The Institute wanted to reward people and organizations that worked to commemorate the national history, their work in line with the statutory goals of the IPN.

Jarosław Szarek gave the reasons behind the Prize Chapter decisions, briefly introducing the awardees.

Mr. Czesław Nowak, a legend of "Solidarity” . . . it is a wealth of initiatives that we owe to that man, from the cross in Westerplatte in 1981, to those monuments he erected with the "Dignity" society and no other help . . . Father Władysław Palmowski has the same background, and not only did he build the organizational structures of "Solidarity" but also offered people aid and assistance in his church; everywhere he ended up he left a mark – churches he erected or communities he built . . . Sitting next to him is a representative of the Polish Museum in America, which protected extraordinary exhibits from being sold or otherwise scattered around the world; for instance, it has preserved the amazing legacy of Paderewski, or a huge stained glass window symbolizing Poland by Mieczysław Jurgielewicz, brought for the 1939 World Expo in New York. That said, the most important thing the museum does is educating young people . . . Working with the youth is what Jerzy Giza is known for. He is a man who undertook and saw through many projects, such as the library documenting the life of the bravest sons of the Nowy Sącz region. Yet, his greatest achievement is shaping young minds . . . Then, Redemptorist Fathers serving Radio Maryja have similarly set up several programs and initiatives, but the thing the Prize Chapter wanted to honour is years of creating space for discussion, in which the voices of people forgotten and marginalized in the 1990s, and at the beginning of the 21st century, were heard.

The IPN’s President went on to briefly profile the 2020 Custodians, whom the pandemic prevented from accepting the award last year; they were Kazimierz Cholewa, Wasyl Haniewicz, the Gusen Memorial Committee, Andrzej Pityński, and, posthumously, Wojciech Ziembiński.