Marek Kuchciński, Speaker of the Sejm, together with his deputies participated today in the opening of the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II in Markowa, Podkarpacie. The ceremony was also attended by the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda and his wife, the Speaker of the Senate Stanisław Karczewski, representatives of local and provincial authorities and the heads of the Chancellery of the Sejm.
- Our nations, Polish and Jewish, lived on this land for a thousand years. (...) Years of common history suffered a terrible breach, which was the Holocaust in German-occupied Polish lands. - said the President of the Republic of Poland during the ceremony. Andrzej Duda emphasized that the museum opened today is a unique place, a symbolic monument to all Poles who helped Polish citizens of Jewish descent survive World War II. - It is a museum of fraternity, mercy and community - President Duda said.
The president also noted that Poles' assistance to their Jewish neighbors was their expression of opposition to cruelty, contempt, hatred and anti-Semitism. - Let this museum be for us and for all visitors a great testimony of tragic but good memory - said Andrzej Duda. He also stressed the values for which the Ulma family gave their lives helping Jews: dignity, honesty, freedom, justice and respect for others. - No honest and law-abiding state can tolerate incitement to hatred, national phobias and xenophobia. I believe that Poland will never tolerate this - President Duda said.
The Museum in Markowa is the first one in Poland which commemorates Poles who rescued Jews during the occupation. It is a symbolic place. During the war Józef and Wiktoria Ulma hid eight people from the Jewish families of Szall and Goldman in the attic of their house. On March 24th 1944 Józef, Wiktoria and their six children were executed by the Nazis for doing so. Next week marks the 72nd anniversary of this tragic event. As Mateusz Szpytma, the director of the new museum, emphasizes, not only the Ulmas hid Jews in Markowa. At least 20 other Jews survived the extermination in eight other houses. In 1995 the Israeli Memorial Institute Yad Vashem awarded the Ulmas the title of Righteous Among the Nations.
Yesterday the Sejm passed a resolution accompanying the opening of the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II in Markowa - On behalf of the Polish Nation, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland once again pays tribute to all its compatriots who risked their lives to save Jews doomed to extermination, especially to those who died at the hands of the German occupiers in retaliation for their help. In connection with the opening of the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II in Markowa, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland would like to express its appreciation also to the self-government of the Podkarpackie Province which, by building a nationwide museum, for the first time commemorated this extraordinary heroism on such a large scale, realizing the vital interest of the entire society,' reads the resolution of the Sejm adopted today by acclamation.
The Sejm of the Republic of Poland emphasized that the tribute to the righteous Poles paid by this document is at the same time a clear reminder to the whole world that, unlike in occupied Western Europe, in the Polish lands there was a death penalty for even the slightest help to Jews. - Among those who died for helping the Jews was the Ulma family: Jozef, the blessed Wiktoria and their six minor children. Together with the hidden Didners, Grünfelds and Goldmans they were murdered in their house in Markowa on March 24th, 1944 - reads the document.
The Sejm of the Republic of Poland also stated in its resolution that the memory of Poles rescuing Jews should constitute an important part of public education. It also expresses its conviction that it will be cultivated not only in the newly opened Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II in Markowa, but also in other state and local government institutions, especially museums, educational institutions and by social organizations.
The decision to build a museum in Markowa was made by the assembly of the Podkarpackie Province in 2008. Work on the project began in the autumn of 2013. The museum was designed by Mirosław Nizio. The interior of the building is modeled on the house where the Ulma family lived. Household equipment that was able to be preserved has been placed there. Outside, a memorial wall has been erected, displaying over 830 names of people who saved Jews during the war.
So far there has been no institution that would present in a systematic way, in the broad context of World War II and the German occupation, the profiles of Poles who, despite the danger to their own lives and those of their loved ones, decided to help Jews doomed to death by Nazi Germans. As the Marshal of the Podkarpackie Province Władysław Ortyl emphasizes, there were many silent heroes like the Ulmas, and their attitude is worth commemorating.
Every year a few thousand people come to Markowa to visit the grave of the Ulma family. Among them are pilgrims, school children and young Israelis. The primary goal of the IYMC is to commemorate the Poles who, during the German occupation - despite the threat of the death penalty - helped the Jewish people condemned by the Third Reich to extermination, and to spread knowledge about them. MPRŻ will also organize educational programs for the youth, meetings with Poles who saved Jews during the war and with their families. The Museum will also conduct documentary activities. The Museum will be a modern, multimedia institution. Initially, it was assumed that it would have a regional character. Eventually, the Minister of Culture gave his consent to make it a nationwide institution.
The opening of the museum was preceded by a ceremony of awarding state medals to Poles who saved Jews during the Nazi occupation. It was attended by the Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński.
text: sejm.gov.pl
