Righteous Poles

 From Human History Uncovered’s Facebook:

Today (March 24^th) is National Day of Remembrance of Poles Rescuing Jews under German Occupation Day.

(Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma)

The date is no coincidence - it was exactly on this day in 1944, the Ulma family was executed in the village of Markowa in Poland. The German Gendarmerie murdered Józef Ulma, his pregnant Wife Wiktoria with their six Children as well as the eight Jews they were hiding. They were killed according to the law introduced in Occupied Poland by Nazi Germany which mandated that any help whatsoever or concealment of Jews was punishable by death.

We wish we could say that such an execution was a rare occurrence. The exact opposite is true. What is even worse, is that most of the time, we don't know the names of Poles who risked everything to help others under such extreme conditions. Not every execution was documented or made known.

As Viktor Frankl once wrote, "everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way".

Despite thousands of bombs being dropped on the homes of Polish people during the Second World War, and their loved ones being taken to Death Camps and Gulags, Polish people chose to help others regardless of any threats. They showed solidarity with those he needed it the most through action, not just words. Their actions expressed their priorities, which were very clear: to stop the war and to stop the Holocaust. The Holocaust, which also took millions of their own lives.

(Jan Maletka)

Polish people offered help even in the most helpless situations. Jan Maletka, a young Polish railway worker, was killed on August 20, 1942 when trying to give water to Jews being transported to the Treblinka Concentration Camp. A few drops of water, a small gesture of humanity, cost him his life.

(Leon and Marianna Lubkiewicz)

Another incredible individual, Marianna Lubkiewicz, ran a bakery during the war. Her family home was destroyed in 1939, so the bakery was all her family had left. On January 13, 1943 she gave some bread to two Jewish women – Enzel and Czapkiewicz, who were hiding in the nearby forest. As a punishment, she was tortured and killed. As was her husband and Stepson.

(Jadwiga Długoborska)

 Another Polish woman, Jadwiga Długoborska, hid 10 Jews in her house during the war. Unfortunately, her secret came out. Consequently, she was arrested, tortured, and killed on June 29, 1944.

These are just a few incredibly brave Polish individuals, a few stories, out of so many...

The walls of our homes, that once provided shelter to persecuted Jews, are now doing the same for Ukrainian refugees. We don't build camps for them, we open the doors to our homes instead. So far, it is estimated that over two million people have come to Poland from Ukraine. More will come as the war continues. And once again, the help of Polish people will remain underestimated and unknown.

It is impossible to measure the kindness of people who bring strangers into their homes, provide them with food, shelter, clothes, medicine…but that is not the point. The point is to never forget that our nation always helped those in need. Regardless of our own situation.

The truth is, you cannot help everybody, but you can help the person in front of you. That is exactly what Polish people did many years ago, and nothing has changed since then. We are still helping.

^ Yad Vashem has recognized 7,177 Poles as Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jews during the Holocaust. The actual number is much higher though.

3 Million Jewish Poles were killed and another 3 Million Non-Jewish Poles were killed by the Germans during World War 2. ^