{"id":3680,"date":"2016-01-01T23:01:23","date_gmt":"2016-01-01T22:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/brussels\/?p=3680"},"modified":"2020-05-11T23:06:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T21:06:12","slug":"the-museum-of-polish-peoples-who-saved-jews-during-wwii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/brussels\/en\/2016\/01\/01\/the-museum-of-polish-peoples-who-saved-jews-during-wwii\/","title":{"rendered":"The Museum of Polish peoples who saved Jews during WWII"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MARKOWA<\/strong>\u00a0is a small district in the Sub-Carpathian Basin, near to the city of \u0141a\u0144cut. In this village lived the\u00a0ULMA family<\/strong>: J\u00f3zef, Wiktoria and their 6 young children. The family decided to hide eight Jewish people during the Second World War, following Operation Reinhard in 1942, the aim of which was to wipe out the entire Polish Jewish population. Following a tip-off, the Germans murdered these 16 people: on Polish territory, the help given to Jews was effectively punishable by death (those who had not turned in the Jews and those who helped them were also targeted). In spite of this, there were many Poles who did not hesitate to come to the assistance of their Jewish compatriots. The\u00a0Ulma family<\/a>\u00a0quickly became the symbol of Polish resistance to the Nazi system. In spite of the terror which reigned against Jews and those who helped them, the inhabitants of the village once again hid almost 20 people. It is to pay homage to these men and women of courage that a new museum is to be built: the\u00a0Museum of Polish peoples who saved Jews during World War II<\/strong>\u00a0(in Polish:\u00a0Muzeum Polak\u00f3w Ratuj\u0105cych \u017byd\u00f3w podczas Drugiej Wojny \u015awiatowej im. Rodziny Ulm\u00f3w w Markowej<\/em>).

>>>\u00a0The inauguration will take place on 17 March 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The initiative which has led to this institution being erected is part of a new sense of momentum to set up museums to which the Polish government has been contributing for almost a decade. \u00a0There are already museums such as\u00a0the one dedicated to the history of Polish Jews<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0that which honours the Jews of Galicia<\/a>, which are entirely given over to addressing the subject of the Polish Jewish question. The museum in Markowa is the first undertaking of this type to focus on the action of the Polish Righteous during the Second World War.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Markowa museum will first deal with the history of the aid given to Jews by Polish people from the Sub-Carpathian Basins: amongst other things, photographs of Markowa and its inhabitants will be presented. One of the photographers was J\u00f3zef Ulma, originally a farmer, who was very active on social issues and was passionate about taking pictures. This first topic will then be presented on a broader scale.\u00a0\u00a0
Building work on the museum began in October 2013. The plans were designed\u00a0Nizio Design International<\/a>, which previously worked with the\u00a0Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Warsaw Uprising Museum<\/a>. At the heart of the narrative for the Markowa Museum is the idea of the risk involved when offering help. The body of the museum represents a house, bringing to mind the architecture which prevailed in the region before the war. Alongside it will be the\u00a0Memorial Orchard<\/em>\u00a0which will bring to mind the monument of Yad Vashem, whilst also remembering J\u00f3zef Ulma\u2019s love of gardening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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J\u00f3zef and Wiktoria Ulma<\/sub><\/sup><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

According to historians, 3,400,000 people of the Jewish faith lived in Poland in 1939, making up around 10% of the total poplation. At the time, the village of Markowa was inhabited by around 4300 chr\u00e9tiens and 120 Jews (30 families). The Germans exterminated the majority of Jews in 1942, during Operation Reinhard. 21 of those Jews were saved by Polish peasants. On the territory of what is now the voivodeship of the Sub-Carpathian Basin, no fewer than 1600 Poles managed to save around 2900 Jews. Although researchers are still checking their data, current estimates point to more than one thousand Poles who died for trying to save Jews. To date, the\u00a0Yad Vashem Institute<\/a>\u00a0has awarded the title \u2018Righteous Among the Nations\u2019 to 6532 people originally from Poland.

MORE INFORMATION

<\/strong>The internet sites for the\u00a0Museum of the History of Polish Jews<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Yad Vashem<\/a>\u00a0have a lot of information about the Polish Righteous Among Nations.\u00a0

TO GO FURTHER:<\/p>\n