The Garden of the Righteous in Warsaw was established as a grassroots social initiative, inspired by the activities of the Italian Foundation GARIWO. The idea of creating Gardens and honoring individuals who, in Europe and beyond – during Nazism and communism, genocides, mass murders, and crimes against humanity committed in the 20th and 21st centuries – saved people's lives or defended human freedom and dignity, found a lively echo in Poland. Such places convey the beauty of the human person, bringing to light the actions of the commemorated individuals and making their deeds public.

The originality of the initiative lies in creating democratic participation in the selection of the Righteous. Anyone can nominate and submit to the Committee a candidate to be commemorated in the Garden. For each of the honored individuals in the Garden, a tree is planted, and in addition, each of the commemorated individuals is dedicated a memorial stone, on which an inscription with the justification for the choice is placed. These symbols are intended to be a living metaphor of rebirth, bringing hope and the victory of life –
Because the Garden was established on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto, whose 400,000 inhabitants were brutally exterminated during World War II.

The Garden of the Righteous Foundation aims to commemorate and popularize the attitudes of the Righteous, and also makes efforts towards democratizing the world by supporting and conducting educational activities that serve to build an atmosphere of tolerance, trust, and respect for people of different nationalities, genders, minorities, cultures, and religions.