Polish Righteous Among the Nations

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Righteous Among the Nations

Main article List of the Righteous Among the Nations by country Polish Righteous Among the Nations Belgian Twentieth convoy Budapest Glass House Croatian Righteous Norwegian Righteous Rescue of the Danish Jews Rescuers assisting Jews during the Holocaust Seven Laws of Noah Yad Vashem The Holocaust Christian ethics

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Polish citizens have the highest total count of the Righteous Among the Nations in the world at 6,066,^[1] in spite of the fact that in German-occupied Poland, all household members were punished by death, if a hidden Jew was found in their house. Capital punishment for aiding Jews (against entire families) was the most severe such Nazi legislation against any nation in occupied Europe.^[1][2][3] On November 10, 1941, the death penalty was enlarged by Hans Frank to apply to Poles who help Jews "in any way: by taking them in for a night, giving them a lift in a vehicle of any sort" and, who "feed the runaway Jews or sell them foodstuffs." The law was made public by posters distributed in all major cities.^[4]

Over 700 Polish Righteous Among the Nations were murdered by Germans as a result of helping and sheltering their Jewish neighbors.^[5] They were only a small part of several thousand Poles reportedly executed by the Nazis for aiding Jews.^[6]

During the German Nazi Holocaust millions of deportees were crowded into General Government from almost every European country.^[7] In September 1942 the Provisional Committee for Aid to Jews (Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom) was founded on the initiative of Zofia Kossak-Szczucka. This body later became the Council for Aid to Jews (Rada Pomocy Żydom), known by the code-name Żegota. It is not 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. An example of an entire Polish village that helped Jews is Markowa near Łańcut, where many families hid their Jewish neighbours and some paid the ultimate price. "A large percentage of Polish Righteous Among the Nations of the World were, in fact, deeply religious."^[8]

[edit] Most notable (Total: 6,066)

Sendler Karski Pilecki Bartoszewski Weigl Irena Sendlerowa, helped rescue 2,500 Jewish children from the Ghetto [9] Jan Karski, first reported the Holocaust to President Franklin D. Roosevelt [10][11] Witold Pilecki, the only known person to volunteer to Auschwitz as wittness[12] Jan Żabiński, sheltered hundreds of displaced Jews at his Warsaw Zoo[13] Henryk Sławik, helped save over 5,000 Polish Jews in Budapest by giving them false 'arian' passports[14] Władysław Bartoszewski, Jewish Uprising assistance (Delegatura)[15][16] Julian Grobelny with wife Halina, rescued a large number of Jewish children (President of Zegota)[17] Irene Gut Opdyke, rescued sixteen Jews by becoming Nazi mistress[18][19] Rudolf Weigl, made and supplied vaccines to two Jewish ghettos[20] Władysław Kowalski, hid 50 Jews around Warsaw, as Philips employee[21] Anna Borkowska, saved 17 young Jewish Zionists in her Vilna convent[22] Szczepan Bradlo and family, saved three families of 16 in a dugout[23] Ana and Jan Puchalski[24] Józef Tkaczyk, his wife Zofia and daughter Genowefa, (Silesia)[25] Jan Żabiński and wife Antonina[26] Waclaw Nowinski, his wife Janina and son Waclaw,(Warsaw)[27] Andrzej Garbuliński with sons Marian and Władyslaw[28] Maria Fedecka, helped numerous Jewish children and their families[29] Antoni Gawrylkiewicz, saved three Jewish families consisting of 16 members[30] Wincenty Antonowicz with wife Jadwiga and daughter Lucyna, (Vilna)[31]

Woliński Henryk Woliński, harbored over 25 Jews in his apartment, (AK)[citation needed] Henryk Iwański, arms and military support for the Jewish Uprising, (AK)[citation needed] Jan Dobraczyński, placed Jewish children in Catholic convents[citation needed] Mieczysław Fogg, hid a Jewish family in his apartment till the end of WWII[32] Kystyna Danko, hid and supplied a Jewish family of four with food, clothing and money[33] Ferdynand Arczynski took care of 4,000 Jews on the "Aryan" side of Warsaw (Zegota treasurer) [34] Jerzy Latoszynsky, his wife Eugenia and daughters, Theresa and Ela [35] Stanislaw Jasinski and daughter Emilia[36] Stefan Jagodzinski, (member of resistance)[37] Maria Kotarba, (Angel of Auschwitz) [38] Marian Burakowski with wife Alicja[39] Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, helped save several thousand Jews, especially children (co-founder of Żegota)[40] Wanda Makuch-Korulska, (AK, Warsaw Uprising)[citation needed] Tadeusz Pankiewicz[citation needed] Konrad Rudnicki and his mother Mara[citation needed] Barbara and son Jerzy Szacki, harboured a pregnant Ghetto fugitive with a 5-year-old, helped with the newborn [41] Jerzy Zagórski and wife Maria[citation needed] Igor Newerly (Warsaw Ghetto editor, saved Janusz Korczak's diary)[42] Aleksander Kamiński[citation needed] Stefan Korboński[citation needed] Helena Podgórska (a six-year old child) assisted her older sister Stefania hid 13 Jews [43] Henryk Sławik[citation needed] Jerzy Zagórski and wife Maria[citation needed] Irena Adamowicz (Warsaw Ghetto courier and writer) [44] Jozef Adamowicz (Krakow) [45] Anna Borkowska[citation needed]

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• Holocaust in Poland
• Polish death camp controversy

[edit] Further reading

• Anna Poray, Polish Righteous, Those Who Risked Their Lives, with photographs and bibliography, 2004. List of approximately 5,400 Poles recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem of the State of Israel (December 31, 1999); including 704 who paid with their lives for saving Jews.