Polish Righteous Among the Nations

Polish citizens have the world's highest count of individuals who have been awarded Righteous among the Nations recognition by the State of Israel, given to non-Jews who saved Jews from extermination during the Holocaust.

Further information: Rescue of Jews by Polish communities during the Holocaust

In actual fact, hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens concealed and aided hundreds of thousands of their Polish-Jewish neighbors. Many of these initiatives were carried out by individuals, but there also existed organized networks dedicated to aiding Jews—most notably, the Żegota organization.

A total of 6,066 Polish "Righteous" are officially recognized by Israel, even though in German-occupied Poland task of rescuing Jews was especially difficult and dangerous. All household members were punished by death if a Jew were found concealed in their home or on their property. Over 700 Poles are known to have died for aiding Jews.

Activities

Before World War II, Poland's Jewish community had numbered between 3,300,000 and 3,500,000 persons—about ten percent of the country's total population. During the Nazi German Holocaust, millions of deportees from nearly every European country were sent to the General Government. Soon after war had broken out, the Germans began their extermination of Polish Jews. Most of them were quickly rounded up and imprisoned in ghettos, which they were forbidden to leave.

As it became apparent that not only were conditions in the ghettos terrible (hunger, diseases, etc.) but that the Jews were being singled out for extermination at Nazi concentration camps, they increasingly tried to escape the Nazi net and hide in order to survive the war. Many Polish Gentiles concealed hundreds of thousands of 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 (Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom) was founded on the initiative of Polish novelist Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, of the famous artistic and literary Kossak family. This body soon became the Council for Aid to Jews (Rada Pomocy Żydom), known by the codename Żegota, with Julian Grobelny as its president and Irena Sendler 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 alone. At war's end, Sendler attempted to return them to their parents; but nearly all of them had died at 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.

Many Jews were saved by the entire communities. An example of an entire Polish village that helped Jews was Markowa, near Łańcut, where many families concealed their Jewish neighbors and some paid the ultimate price for doing so.

One postwar Polish source that studied the subject estimated that "the number of Jews hiding in Poland—most of them helped in some way by Gentiles—ran into the hundreds of thousands." Another informed Polish source estimated that "the number of Jews sheltered by Poles" at one time might have been "as high as 450,000." However, concealment was no guarantee of safety. Estimates of Jewish survivors of the war in Poland are lower, since many Poles and Jews were caught by the Germans, and range from about 40,000 to 200,000.

Risk

Nazi German poster in German and Polish (Warsaw, 1942) threatening death to any Pole who aided Jews

Capital punishment of entire families, for aiding Jews, was the most draconian such Nazi practice against any nation in occupied Europe. On November 10, 1941, the death penalty was expanded by Hans Frank to apply to Poles who helped Jews "in any way: by taking them in for the night, giving them a lift in a vehicle of any kind" or "feed[ing] runaway Jews or sell[ing] them foodstuffs." The law was made public by posters distributed in all major cities. Polish rescuers were fully conscious of the enormous dangers facing them and their families not only from the Germans but also from betrayers (see:szmalcownik) and antisemitic elements within Polish population.

The 704 Polish "Righteous" reportedly murdered by the Nazis were only a small percentage of the thousands of Poles known to have been executed for aiding Jews. Estimates of the number of Poles who died at the hands of the Germans for helping Jews vary from a few thousand to fifty thousand.

Gunnar S. Paulsson, in his work on the Jews of Warsaw, 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, supposedly less antisemitic countries of Western Europe.

Over 700 Polish "Righteous among the Nations" were murdered by the Germans for aiding or sheltering their Jewish neighbors.

Numbers

As of 2008, there were 6,066 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 would be full of trees and would turn into a forest."

Psychologist Hans G. Furth holds that the number of Poles who helped their Jewish neighbors is greatly underestimated, and estimetes that there might have been as many as 1,200,000 Polish rescuers. Władysław Bartoszewski, a wartime member of Żegota, estimates that "at least several hundred thousand Poles... participated in various ways and forms in the rescue action." Recent research supports estimates that about a million Poles were involved in such rescue efforts, "but some estimates go as high as three million" (the total prewar population of Polish citizens, including Jews, was estimated at 35,100,000, including 23,900,000 ethnic Poles).

How many people in Poland rescued Jews? Of those that meet Yad Vashem’s criteria—perhaps 100,000. Of those that offered minor forms of help—perhaps two or three times as many. Of those who were passively protective—undoubtedly the majority of the population. — Gunnar S. Paulsson

Scholars still disagree on exact numbers. John T. Pawlikowski, Director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies Program at the University of Chicago, has written that claims of hundreds of thousands of rescuers stuck him as "highly inflated and without sufficient documentary evidence." Historian Martin Gilbert, who has chronicled the efforts of the Righteous, has written that rescuers were an exception, albeit one that could be found in towns and villagers throughout Poland during the war.

Misconception

There were a small number of opportunist Poles who blackmailed the hiding Jews, turned them over to the Nazis or even murdered them (see Jedwabne pogrom for the most infamous example). But Poles collaborating with the Nazis were very few—estimates speak of several thousand (see World War II collaboration and Poland for details). As Paulsson notes, "a single hooligan or blackmailer could wreak severe damage on Jews in hiding, but it took the silent passivity of a whole crowd to maintain their cover."

The fact that the Polish Jewish community was decimated during World War II, coupled with stories about Polish collaborators, has contributed to a stereotype of the Polish population having been passive in regard to, or even supportive of, Jewish suffering.

Notable persons

Bartoszewski Grobelny File:Jan Karski.jpg Karski Kotarba Józef Adamowicz (Kraków) delivered food for dr Julian Aleksandrowicz in Kraków ghetto, beaten to death by ghetto guards Irena Adamowicz, liaison between several Jewish ghettos providing communication and moral support Wincenty Antonowicz with wife Jadwiga and daughter Lucyna, (Vilna) Ferdynand Arczyński took care of 4,000 Jews on the "Aryan" side of Warsaw (Zegota treasurer) Władysław Bartoszewski, Jewish Uprising assistance (Delegatura) Anna Borkowska, saved 17 young Jewish Zionists in her Vilna convent Franciszek and Magdalena Banasiewicz with children, saved families of 15 in a bunker near Przemysl Szczepan Bradło and family, saved three families of 16 in a dugout Kystyna Danko, hid and supplied a Jewish family of four with food, clothing and money Jan Dobraczyński, placed Jewish children in Catholic convents Maria Fedecka, saved 12 members of close Jewish families in Wilno Mieczysław Fogg, hid a Jewish family in his apartment till the end of World War II Andrzej Garbuliński and son, killed for sheltering Alfenbeins family Antoni Gawryłkiewicz, saved three Jewish families consisting of 16 members Julian Grobelny with wife Halina, rescued a large number of Jewish children (President of Zegota) Henryk Iwański, arms and military support for the Jewish Uprising, (AK) Stefan Jagodziński, saved Dr. Tenenwurzel's family of three (member of resistance) Stanisław Jasiński and daughter Emilia Jerzy and Eugenia Latoszyński, temporarily adopting Artur Citryn Aleksander Kamiński, helped organize Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto (Home Army representative) Jan Karski, first reported the Holocaust to President Franklin D. Roosevelt Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, helped save several thousand Jews, especially children (co-founder of Żegota)

Pilecki Sendler Weigl Maria Kotarba, "Angel of Auschwitz" delivering food and medicine, cooking for Jewish female prisoners Władysław Kowalski, hid 50 Jews around Warsaw (Philips employee) Stefan Korboński, alerted London and the BBC about the ongoing destruction of the Jews, to no avail (Delegatura) Jerzy Jan Lerski (George J. Lerski) informed political circles abroad about the extermination and persecution of Jews Igor Newerly, saved Janusz Korczak's diary of martyrdom, harboured several Warsaw Ghetto journalists Wacław Nowiński, his wife Janina and son Wacław, (Warsaw) Irene Gut Opdyke, rescued sixteen Jews by becoming Nazi mistress Tadeusz Pankiewicz, operated the only pharmacy in the Jewish Ghetto of Kraków and distributed free medicine Alfreda and Bolesław Pietraszek, rescued several Jewish families consisting of 18 people Witold Pilecki, the only person known to have voluntarily gone to Auschwitz as a witness Helena Podgórska (a six-year old), assisted her older sister Stefania hid 13 Jews for two and a half years Anna and Jan Puchalski Konrad Rudnicki and his mother Maria harbored the Weintraubs family during WWII Irena Sendlerowa, helped rescue at least 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto Henryk Sławik, helped save over 5,000 Polish Jews in Budapest by giving them false 'arian' passports Barbara and son Jerzy Szacki, harboured a pregnant Ghetto fugitive with a 5-year-old, helped with the newborn Józef Tkaczyk, his wife Zofia and daughter Genowefa, (Silesia) Józef and Wiktoria Ulma from Markowa, harbored Jews, killed together with them by German police Rudolf Weigl, made and supplied vaccines to two Jewish ghettos Henryk Woliński, harbored 25 Jews in his apartment, helped 283 (AK BIP) Jerzy Zagórski and wife Maria, harbored 18 Jews in their home before the Warsaw Uprising Jan Żabiński and wife Antonina, sheltered hundreds of displaced Jews at his Warsaw Zoo

See also

• Holocaust in Poland
• Polish death camp controversy
• History of the Jews in Poland

References

• Anna Poray, Polish Righteous: Those Who Risked Their Lives, with photographs and bibliography, 2004. Lists 5,400 Poles recognized as "Righteous among the Nations" by Israel's Yad Vashem (December 31, 1999), including 704 who paid with their lives for saving Jews.