Presenting the "Death for Humanity" exhibition to the world. "The symbol of the martyrdom of Poles murdered for helping Jews""

On August 23, in the Cathedral of St. Justus and Pastor in Alcala, Spain, there was an opening of the exhibition „Death for Humanity. The Ulma Family.”

The exhibition was also presented in front of the headquarters of the Polish General Consulate of the Republic of Poland in New York. Both events are part of the foreign information campaign conducted by the Polish National Foundation ahead of the beatification ceremonies in honour of the martyrs from Markowa, scheduled for September 10. The Ulmas were killed for their values and willingness to help Jews in hiding. The German oppressors spared neither Jozef nor his pregnant wife, Wiktoria. They also had no mercy for their six children: Stasia, Basia, Wladzio, Franio, Antos and Marysia.

„The exhibition by the Institute of National Remembrance, which PFN distributes in Spain and the US, is a consistent part of the Foundation’s international educational mission. Poles who saved Jews during World War II wrote a special page in the history of the 20th century. Through this exhibition we pay tribute to the Ulma Family from Markowa, whose execution has become a symbol of the martyrdom of Poles murdered for helping Jews. It is also an attempt to honour thousands of other Poles who rescued Jews, since our knowledge in this challenging area of research is only just developing, the latest evidence being the activities of Polish diplomats Aleksander Ładoś, Konstanty Rokicki and other members of the so-called Bern Group.”

— Dr. Marcin Zarzecki, Chairman of the Board of the Polish National Foundation, said.

The authors of the exhibition, which was held under the patronage of the Presidential Committee for the Celebration of the Beatification of the Ulma Family, are historians from the Rzeszow branch of the Institute of National Remembrance. It was first presented on August 21 in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

The exhibition presents the fate of the Ulma family, their daily life and passions, interrupted by the tragic events of the war. In addition to the Ulma family, the exhibition depicts the situation of the Jews in Markowa, mutual Polish-Jewish relations and those who managed to be saved in spite of German repression.

„Concern for the memory of Poles who rescued Jews during World War II is our duty; it is one of the most glorious pages in our history. In occupied Poland, helping Jews was punishable by death, brutally and ruthlessly executed by German oppressors. With no trial, without any indictment, without any rules. Thousands of Poles - out of, we estimate, a million who provided assistance to Jews in hiding at the time - were murdered in this way, most often along with their Jewish neighbours, their protégés. In a way, the beatification of the Ulma Family restores the memory of those thousands of anonymous Polish heroes who died at the hands of the German occupants on account of the help they gave to the Jewish people”

— added Michał Góras, vice president of the Board of the Polish National Foundation.

PFN’s task is to present the contents of the exhibition around the world, which is why it organized its opening together with its partners - in Spain with the Polish Institute in Madrid and the Domus Nostra Association of Poles in Polonia, and in New York with the General Consulate of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Institute. There are still plans to open the exhibition in Washington, Rome or even Lithuania

Tłum. K.J.