Matylda Getter (1870–1968) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Catholic nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

, mother provincial of CSFFM (lat. ''Congregatio Sororum Franciscalium Familiae Mariae'') -

Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary The Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, ( pl, Zgromadzenie Sióstr Franciszkanek Rodziny Maryi; la, Congregatio Sororum Franciscalium Familiae Mariae), also known as ''Siostry Rodziny Maryi, RM'', is a Polish female religious institute.

in Warsaw and

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

in pre-war

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. In German-occupied Warsaw during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

she cooperated with

Irena Sendler Irena Stanisława Sendler (), also referred to as Irena Sendlerowa in Poland, ''nom de guerre'' Jolanta (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resista ...

and the

Żegota Żegota (, full codename: the "Konrad Żegota Committee"Yad Vashem Shoa Resource CenterZegota/ref>) was the Polish Council to Aid Jews with the Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Rada Pomocy Żydom przy Delegaturze Rządu RP na Kraj), an u ...

resistance organization in saving the lives of hundreds of Jewish children from the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the N ...

. She was recognized as one of

Polish Righteous among the Nations The citizens of Poland have the world's highest count of individuals who have been recognized by Yad Vashem of Jerusalem as the Polish Righteous Among the Nations, for saving Jews from extermination during the Holocaust in World War II. There a ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

.Matylda Getter. Recognized as the Righteous Among the Nations on 17 January 1985.
Sprawiedliwi.org for her rescue activities.

Biography

She started social work before World War II and she received a number of the highest national distinctions in honor of her achievements in her educational and social work. She had founded over twenty education and care facilities for children in

Anin Anin may refer to the following places in Poland: * Anin, Warsaw *Anin, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Anin (german: Annenhof) is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Morąg, within Ostróda County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship ...

Białołęka Białołęka (, from ''biały'' - ''white'' and ''łąka'' - ''meadow'') is one of 18 dzielnica, districts of Warsaw, located in the northern part of the city. Until October 27, 2002 Białołęka was a gmina. The name ''Białołęka'' comes from ...

, Chotomów,

Międzylesie Międzylesie (german: Mittelwalde) is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' , from German ''Gemeinde'' mea ...

, Płudy,

Sejny Sejny ( lt, Seinai) is a town in north-eastern Poland and the capital of Sejny County, in Podlaskie Voivodeship, close to the northern border with Lithuania and Belarus. It is located in the eastern part of the Suwałki Lake Area ( pl, Pojezier ...

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...

and others.

Activity during World War II

From the beginning of the war the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, “in the spirit of Christian love and Franciscan joy,” brought aid to those in need, both civilians and members of the Polish underground. Sisters arranged work, provided shelter and distributed false documents. During the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

in the provincial house at Hoża St. 53, the sisters ran a paramedical station and a soup kitchen, later turned into a hospital. Mother Matylda Getter declared that she would take in every Jewish child she could. During the occupation, the Order's Sisters rescued between 250 and 550Mordecai Paldiel "Churches and the Holocaust: unholy teaching, good samaritans, and reconciliation" p.209-210, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2006, , Jewish children from the ghetto. Mother Matylda risked her life and the lives of her Sisters by taking the children into her orphanages and hiring adults to work with them, caring for the children in facilities scattered around Poland. As the superior of the Warsaw Province of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, she took on the responsibility of obtaining birth certificates for the children and hiding them in the order’s educational institutions.

Bibliography

* Mordecai Paldiel "Churches and the Holocaust: unholy teaching, good samaritans, and reconciliation" p. 209-210, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2006, , * „Siostry Zakonne w Polsce. Słownik biograficzny”, t. 1, p. 93., * "Kościół katolicki na ziemiach Polski w czasie II wojny światowej", t. XI, Warszawa 1981 * "Siostry Rodziny Maryi z pomocą dzieciom polskim i żydowskim w Międzylesiu i Aninie", Biblioteka Wawerska, Warszawa 2006, * "Za cenę życia", "Ład", Warszawa, 1983 nr 17 1983, * "Wspomnienie... o Matce Matyldzie Getter "Matusia", "Słowo Powszechne", 1968, nr 35

References

External links

Radia Maryja">Artykuł na temat akcji ratowania Żydów przez siostry franciszkanki na stronach Radio Maryja, Radia Maryja

Spotkanie ocalonych z siostrami franciszkankami po 60 latach

Polscy Sprawiedliwi - Przywracanie Pamięci; Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich

– her activity to save Jews' lives at the Holocaust, at

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Getter, Matylda 1870 births 1968 deaths Nuns from Warsaw Catholic Righteous Among the Nations Polish humanitarians Women humanitarians Polish resistance members of World War II Polish Righteous Among the Nations Polish Roman Catholics Franciscan nuns 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic nuns