Montreal hosts show on Polish 'Righteous Gentiles'

The show documents the history of the family of farmer Józef Ulma and his wife and Wiktoria, who lived with their six young children in the small locality of Markowa, near Łańcut, in south-eastern Poland.

In the summer of 1942, Nazi executions of Jews began in the region. In the autumn of that year a Jewish family from Łańcut came to Markowa to find shelter. When they asked Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma to hide them, the couple agreed.

After over a year, the Jews’ presence on the farm was discovered. In March 1944, German police shot eight hiding Jews to death and murdered the entire Ulma family - Jozef, Wiktoria, who was seven months pregnant, and their six children.

In 1995, the Yad Vashem Remembrance Institute in Jerusalem recognized Jozef Ulma and his wife, Wiktoria, as Righteous Among the Nations.

The exhibition remains on show until 8 January 2016. It has captions in three languages: Polish, English and French. Apart from Warsaw and many Polish cities, the exhibition has been shown over the past five years in Munich, Chicago and Ottawa.

According to historical sources, at least 1600 Poles in what is now the Podkarpackie province in south-eastern Poland sheltered over 2900 Jews during World War Two. Some 200 Poles were executed by the Nazis for their actions.

The murder of the Ulma family has become a symbol of Polish martyrdom during the Nazi occupation. The Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in the Podkarpackie Province is to open in Markowa next year. The beatification process of the family is under way in the Roman Catholic Church. (mk/nh/rk)