Poland observes Day of Remembrance of Poles who saved Jews
Poland has observed the National Day of Remembrance of Poles who saved Jews from the Holocaust during World War Two on March 24. The date refers to the day in 1944 when Nazi Germans murdered the Polish Ulma family for sheltering fellow citizens of Jewish descent.
The memorial day was established by the Polish parliament on the initiative of President Andrzej Duda.
The commemmorative events were held in Markowa, the native village of the Ulma family, near Lancut (south-eastern Poland) on Saturday. They were attended by the head of the President's Office Halina Szymanska, President of Poland's national heritage-guarding Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) Jarosław Szarek and representatives of the Polish Society of the Righteous Among the Nations.
Markowa is a place with unique symbolism and meaning in the recent history of our homeland, President Andrzej Duda wrote in a letter read by Szymanska. Duda stressed that Markowa is also an important place for disseminating knowledge about Polish history thanks to the Museum of Poles Saving Jews that is located there.
"By virtue of this institution, which I was privileged to open two years ago, this almost forgotten chapter of the common history of Poles and Jews is being rediscovered today," the president wrote.
In Duda's opinion, commemorating the victims of German crimes and "showing the world the truth" about the solidarity and aid that Polish citizens displayed during World War II is "our, contemporary Poles', civic and moral duty and a historical obligation towards past generations."
"I am deeply convinced that the new memorial day that we are observing today for the first time will serve this aim from now on," the president added.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, in a letter addressed to the participants of the Markowa observance, wrote that helping Jews under German occupation is one of the most glorious pages in Polish history. The Prime Minister's letter was read by the Assembly Speaker of the Podkarpackie province Wladyslaw Ortyl.
"We are obliged to speak out loud about it and remember the exceptional acts of courage, bravery of Polish citizens," Morawiecki wrote.
"Today there is no place for denials of facts, for the blurring of responsibility, who in times of the German terror demonstrated heroism, who was an executioner, and who was a victim. There is a lot of work ahead of us to remain witnesses of memory," he added.
"This is a great day for Polish history, for honouring our national heroes," Mateusz Szpytma, the deputy president of IPN said on Saturday. "Let us remember that Poles saving Jews are among of the greatest heroes in our history," he added.
On March 24, 1944, Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma were executed by the Nazi Germans together with their six children and the Jewish fugitives they were hiding. At the time of her execution, Wiktoria Ulma was eight months pregnant; her oldest daughter was eight years old. A museum named after the Ulma family was opened on March 17, 2016, in Markowa, southern Poland.
In 1995, Wiktoria and Jozef Ulma were posthumously honoured with the Righteous Among the Nations title from Israel's Yad Vashem Institute. The Righteous Among the Nations medals are awarded by the Jerusalem-based Yad Vashem Institute to individuals and families who risked their own lives and the lives of their loved ones to rescue Jews from the Holocaust.
During World War Two Poland was the only German-occupied country in Europe where aiding Jews was punishable by death. (PAP)
mr/ jch/
