Polish Righteous
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The citizens of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
have the highest count of individuals who have been recognized by
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
as the Polish Righteous Among the Nations, for saving
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
from extermination during
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
in World War II. There are Polish men and women conferred with the honor, over a quarter of the recognized by Yad Vashem in total. The list of
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
is not comprehensive and it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Poles concealed and aided tens of thousands of their
Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
neighbors. Many of these initiatives were carried out by individuals, but there also existed organized networks of Polish resistance which were dedicated to aiding Jews – most notably, 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 (), an underground Polish resistance organization, and part of th ...
'' organization. In
German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland can refer to: * General Government * Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany * Occupation of Poland (1939–1945) * Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish ...
, the task of rescuing Jews was difficult and dangerous. All household members were subject to
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
if a Jew was found concealed in their home or on their property.


Activities

Before
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Poland's Jewish community had numbered about 3,460,000 – about 9.7 percent of the country's total population. Following the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, Germany's Nazi regime sent millions of deportees from every European country to the concentration and forced-labor camps set up in the
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
territory of occupied Poland and across the
Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany Following the Invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the entire territory of the Second Polish Republic was Areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under the German civil ad ...
. Most Jews were imprisoned in the
Nazi ghettos Beginning with the invasion of Poland during World War II, the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime set up ghettos across German-occupied Europe, German-occupied Eastern Europe in order to segregate and confine Jews, and sometimes Romani people, into small ...
, which they were forbidden to leave. Soon after the
German–Soviet war The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and A ...
had broken out in 1941, the Germans began their extermination of Polish Jews on either side of the Curzon Line, parallel to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish population including
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...
and other minorities of Poland. As it became apparent that, not only were conditions in the ghettos terrible (hunger, diseases, executions), but that the Jews were being singled out for extermination at the
Nazi death camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
, they increasingly tried to escape from the ghettos and hide in order to survive the war. Many Polish
Gentile ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...
s concealed their Jewish neighbors. Many of these efforts arose spontaneously from individual initiatives, but there were also organized networks dedicated to aiding the Jews. Most notably, in September 1942 a
Provisional Committee to Aid Jews The Provisional Committee to Aid Jews () was founded on September 27, 1942, by Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz. The founding body consisted of Poland, Polish democratic Roman Catholic, Catholic activists associated with the Fr ...
(''Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom'') was founded on the initiative of Polish novelist
Zofia Kossak-Szczucka Zofia Kossak-Szczucka ( (also Kossak-Szatkowska); 10 August 1889 – 9 April 1968) was a Polish writer and World War II resistance fighter. She co-founded two wartime Polish organizations: Front for the Rebirth of Poland and Żegota, set up to ...
, of the famous artistic and literary
Kossak Kossak is the surname of 4 generations of notable Polish painters, writers and poets, descending from the historical painter Juliusz Kossak. Notable people with this surname include: * Progenitor, Juliusz Kossak (1824–99), Polish painter from ...
family. This body soon became the
Council for Aid to Jews A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...
(''Rada Pomocy Żydom''), known by the codename ''
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 (), an underground Polish resistance organization, and part of th ...
'', with
Julian Grobelny Julian Grobelny (16 February 1893 – 5 December 1944) was an activist in the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) from 1915, in the lead-up to Poland's return to independence. During the interwar period he was a social activist. After the German-Soviet ...
as its president and
Irena Sendler Irena Stanisława Sendler (; 15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), operating under the ''nom de guerre'' Jolanta, was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resistance during World War II in Ge ...
as head of its children's section. It is not exactly known how many Jews were helped by ''Żegota'', but at one point in 1943 it had 2,500 Jewish children under its care in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
alone. At the end of the war, Sendler attempted to locate their parents but nearly all of them had been murdered at
Treblinka Treblinka () was the second-deadliest extermination camp to be built and operated by Nazi Germany in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the Treblinka, ...
. It is estimated that about half of the Jews who survived the war (thus over 50,000) were aided in some shape or form by Żegota. In numerous instances, Jews were saved by entire communities, with everyone engaged, such as in the villages of
Markowa Markowa is a village in Łańcut County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Markowa. It lies approximately south-east of Łańcut and east of the regional capita ...
and Głuchów near
Łańcut Łańcut (, ; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the Capital (political), capital of Łańcut County. History Archeological investigat ...
, Główne,
Ozorków Ozorków () is a town on the Bzura River in central Poland, with 19,128 inhabitants (2020). It has been situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (Lodz Province) since 1919. History The city's history dates back to the fifteenth century. In 1415 a sma ...
, Borkowo near
Sierpc Sierpc ( Polish: ) is a town in north-central Poland, in the north-west part of the Masovian Voivodeship, about northwest of Warsaw. It is the capital of Sierpc County. Its population is 18,368 (2010). Sierpc is a member of Cittaslow. History ...
, Dąbrowica near
Ulanów Ulanów is a town in Nisko County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,491 inhabitants (02.06.2009). History The town of Ulanów was founded in 1616 by nobleman Stanisław Ulina. Due to its location at the confluence of the San River and ...
, in Głupianka near
Otwock Otwock (Yiddish: אָטוואָצק) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland, some south-east of Warsaw, with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is situated on the right bank of the ...
, Teresin near
Chełm Chełm (; ; ) is a city in eastern Poland in the Lublin Voivodeship with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some from the border with Ukraine. The ...
, Rudka, Jedlanka, Makoszka, Tyśmienica, and Bójki in
Parczew Parczew is a town in eastern Poland, with a population of 10,281 (2006). It is the capital of Parczew County in the Lublin Voivodeship. Parczew historically belongs to Lesser Poland (''Małopolska'') region. The town lies 60 kilometers north o ...
-
Ostrów Lubelski Ostrów Lubelski is a town in Gmina Ostrów Lubelski in Lubartów County, Lublin Voivodeship in Poland. Geography Within the territory of the town and Gmina, commune there are three lakes: Miejskie Lake, Kleszczów Lake and Czarne Lake. The Gmin ...
area, and Mętów, near Głusk. Numerous families who concealed their Jewish neighbours were killed for doing so.


Risk

During the
occupation of Poland (1939–1945) During World War II, Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union following the invasion in September 1939, and it was formally concluded with the defeat of Germany by the Allies in May 1945. Throughout the entire course of the ...
, the Nazi German administration created hundreds of ghettos surrounded by walls and
barbed-wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...
fences in most metropolitan cities and towns, with gentile Poles on the 'Aryan side' and the
Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
crammed into a fraction of the city space. On 15 October 1941, the death penalty was introduced by
Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician, lawyer and convicted war criminal who served as head of the General Government in German-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member ...
, governor of the
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
, to apply to Jews who attempted to leave the ghettos without proper authorization, and all those who "deliberately offer a hiding place to such Jews". The law was made public by posters distributed in all major cities. The death penalty was also imposed for helping Jews in other Polish territories under the German occupation, but without issuing any legal act. Anyone from the Aryan side caught assisting those on the Jewish side in obtaining food was subject to the death penalty. The usual punishment for aiding Jews was death, applied to entire families. Polish rescuers were fully conscious of the dangers facing them and their families, not only from the invading Germans, but also from blackmailers (''see'': ''
szmalcownik Szmalcownik (); in English, also sometimes spelled shmaltsovnik) is a pejorative Polish language, Polish slang expression that originated during the The Holocaust in Poland, Holocaust in Poland in World War II and refers to a person who blac ...
s'') within the local, multi-ethnic population and the
Volksdeutsche In Nazi Germany, Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had Germans, German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of ''wikt:volksdeutsch, volksdeutsch'', with denoting ...
. The Nazis implemented a law forbidding all non-Jews from buying from Jewish shops under the maximum penalty of death. Gunnar S. Paulsson, in his work on history of the Warsaw Jews during the Holocaust, has demonstrated that, despite the much harsher conditions, Warsaw's Polish residents managed to support and conceal the same percentage of Jews as did the residents of cities in safer countries of Western Europe, where no death penalty for saving them existed.


Numbers

There are officially recognized Polish Righteous – the highest count among nations of the world. At a 1979 international historical conference dedicated to Holocaust rescuers, J. Friedman said in reference to Poland: "If we knew the names of all the noble people who risked their lives to save the Jews, the area around
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
would be full of trees and would turn into a forest." Polish historian Ewa Kołomańska noted that for example many individuals associated with the Polish
Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
, involved in rescuing the Jews, did not receive the Righteous title. Hans G. Furth holds that the number of Poles who helped Jews is greatly underestimated and there might have been as many as 1,200,000 Polish rescuers. Father John T. Pawlikowski (a
Servite The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nun ...
priest from Chicago) remarked that the hundreds of thousands of rescuers strike him as inflated.


See also

* Stanisława Leszczyńska: a Polish midwife at the Auschwitz concentration camp *
History of the Jews in 20th-century Poland Following the establishment of the Second Polish Republic after World War I and during the interwar period, the number of Jews in the country grew rapidly. According to the Polish national census of 1921, there were 2,845,364 Jews living in the S ...
*
Holocaust in Poland The Holocaust saw the ghettoization, robbery, deportation and mass murder of Jews, alongside other groups under similar racial pretexts in occupied Poland by the Nazi Germany. Over three million Polish Jews were murdered, primarily at the ...
* "Polish death camp" controversy


Notes


Bibliography

*


References


Polish Righteous
at the
Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews () is a museum on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The Hebrew language, Hebrew word ''Polin'' in the museum's English name means either "Poland" or "rest here" and relates to a legend about the ar ...
* Anna Poray, with photographs and bibliography, 2004. List of Poles recognized as "Righteous among the Nations" by
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
's
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
(31 December 1999), with 5,400 awards including 704 of those who paid with their lives for saving Jews. *Piotr Zychowicz
Do Izraela z bohaterami: Wystawa pod Tel Awiwem pokaże, jak Polacy ratowali Żydów
, Rp.pl, 18 November 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Polish Righteous Among The Nations Jewish Polish history Poland in World War II