Zofia Kossak-Szczucka ( (also Kossak-Szatkowska); 10 August 1889 – 9 April 1968) was a Polish writer and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

resistance fighter. She co-founded two wartime Polish organizations: Front for the Rebirth of Poland and

Żegota Żegota (, full codename: the "Konrad Żegota Committee"Yad Vashem Shoa Resource CenterZegota/ref>) was the Polish Council to Aid Jews with the Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Rada Pomocy Żydom przy Delegaturze Rządu RP na Kraj), an un ...

, set up to assist Polish Jews to escape the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. In 1943, she was arrested by the Germans and sent to

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

, but survived the war.

Biography

Early life

Zofia Kossak was the daughter of

Tadeusz Kossak Tadeusz Kossak (1 January 1857 in Paris – 3 July 1935 in Górki Wielkie), was born into a noted Polish family of artists and writers. He was an officer in the Polish Army, a freedom fighter, and owner of a country estate in Górki Wielkie tha ...

, who was the twin brother of painter

Wojciech Kossak Wojciech Horacy Kossak (31 December 1856 – 29 July 1942) was a noted Poland, Polish Painting, painter and member of the celebrated Kossak family of artists and writers. He was the son of painter Juliusz Kossak, and twin brother of freedom figh ...

, and granddaughter of painter

Juliusz Kossak Juliusz Fortunat Kossak (Nowy Wiśnicz, 15 December 1824 – 3 February 1899, Kraków) was an Austrian Polish historical painter and master illustrator who specialized in battle scenes, military portraits and horses. He was the progenitor of an ...

. She married twice. In 1923, following the death of her first husband Stefan Szczucki in

Lwiw Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, she settled in the village of Górki Wielkie in

Cieszyn Silesia Cieszyn Silesia, Těšín Silesia or Teschen Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Cieszyński ; cs, Těšínské Slezsko or ; german: Teschener Schlesien or ) is a historical region in south-eastern Silesia, centered on the towns of Cieszyn and Český T� ...

where in 1925 she married Zygmunt Szatkowski.

Activism

She was associated with the

Czartak Czartak () was a regional literary group in Poland, founded after World War I by Emil Zegadłowicz. Its most famous member was Zofia Kossak-Szczucka. Other members included Edward Kozikowski, Jan Nepomucen Miller and Janina Brzostowska. Czart ...

literary group, and wrote mainly for the Catholic press. Her best-known work from that period is ''The Blaze'', a memoir of the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. In 1936, she received the prestigious Gold Laurel (''Złoty Wawrzyn'') of the

Polish Academy of Literature The Polish Academy of Literature ( pl, Polska Akademia Literatury, PAL) was one of the most important state institutions of literary life in the Second Polish Republic, operating between 1933 and 1939 with the headquarters in Warsaw. It was foun ...

. Kossak-Szczucka's historical novels include ''Beatum scelus'' (1924), ''Złota wolność'' (Golden Liberty, 1928), ''Legnickie pole'' (''The Field of Legnica'', 1930), ''Trembowla'' (1939), ''Suknia Dejaniry'' (''The Gift of Nessus'', 1939). Best known are ''Krzyżowcy'' (''Angels in The Dust'', 1935), ''Król trędowaty'' (''The Leper King'', 1936), and ''Bez oręża'' (''Blessed are The Meek'', 1937) dealing with the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

and later ''

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

'', translated into several languages. She also wrote ''Z miłości'' (''From Love'', 1926) and ''Szaleńcy boży'' (''God's Madmen'', 1929), on religious themes.

World War II

Press activities

During the German occupation of Poland, she worked in the underground press: from 1939 to 1941, she co-edited the underground newspaper ''Polska żyje'' (''Poland Lives''). In 1941, she co-founded the Catholic organization ''Front Odrodzenia Polski'' (''Front for the Rebirth of Poland''), and edited its newspaper, ''Prawda'' (''The Truth''). In the underground, she used the code name ''Weronika''.

"Protest!"

In the summer of 1942, when the liquidation of the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

began, Kossak-Szczucka published a leaflet entitled "Protest," of which 5,000 copies were printed. In the leaflet, she described in graphic terms the conditions in the Ghetto, and the horrific circumstances of the deportations then taking place. "All will perish ... Poor and rich, old, women, men, youngsters, infants, Catholics dying with the name of Jesus and Mary together with Jews. Their only guilt is that they were born into the Jewish nation condemned to extermination by Hitler." The world, Kossak-Szczucka wrote, was silent in the face of this atrocity. "England is silent, so is America, even the influential international Jewry, so sensitive in its reaction to any transgression against its people, is silent. Poland is silent... Dying Jews are surrounded only by a host of

Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...

washing their hands in innocence." Those who are silent in the face of murder, she wrote, become accomplices to the crime. Kossak-Szczucka saw this largely as an issue of religious ethics. "Our feelings toward Jews have not changed," she wrote. "We do not stop thinking of them as political, economic and ideological enemies of Poland." But, she wrote, this does not relieve Polish Catholics of their duty to oppose the crimes being committed in their country. She co-founded the

Provisional Committee to Aid Jews The Provisional Committee to Aid Jews ( pl, Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom) was founded on September 27, 1942, by Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz. The founding body consisted of Polish democratic Catholic activists associat ...

(''Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom''), which later turned into the council to Aid Jews (''Rada Pomocy Żydom''), codenamed

, an underground organization whose sole purpose was to save Jews in Poland from Nazi extermination. In 1985, she was posthumously named one of the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

. Regarding Kossak-Szczucka's "Protest", Robert D. Cherry and

Annamaria Orla-Bukowska Annamaria Orla-Bukowska is a social anthropologist at the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków; and the Professor/Lecturer at the Center for Social Studies / Graduate School for Social Research of the Polish Academy ...

wrote in the introduction to ''Rethinking Poles and Jews'': "Without at all whitewashing her antisemitism in the document, she vehemently called for active intercession on behalf of the Jews - precisely in the name of Polish Roman Catholicism and Polish patriotism. The deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto precipitated her cofounding of

that same year - an

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

(AK, Home Army) unit whose sole purpose was to save Jews."

Arrest

On September 27, 1943 Kossak-Szczucka was arrested in Warsaw by a German street patrol. The Germans, not realising who she was, sent her first to the prison at

Pawiak Pawiak () was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Congress Poland. During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia. During the World War II German occupation ...

and then to

Auschwitz II-Birkenau Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

concentration camp. When her true identity became known in April 1944, she was sent back to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

for interrogation and sentenced to death. She was released in July 1944 through the efforts of the Polish underground and participated in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

Post-war

At the end of World War II, a communist regime began to establish itself in Poland. In June 1945, Kossak was called in by

Jakub Berman Jakub Berman (23 December 1901 – 10 April 1984) was a Polish communist politician. Was born in Jewish family, son of Iser and Guta. An activist during the Second Polish Republic, in post-war communist Poland he was a member of the Politburo ...

, the new Polish Minister of the Interior, who was Jewish. He strongly advised her to leave the country immediately for her own protection, knowing what his government would do to political enemies, and also knowing from his brother,

Adolf Berman Adolf Avraham Berman (, 17 October 1906 – 3 February 1978) was a Polish-Israeli activist and communist politician. Biography Born in Warsaw in the Russian Empire (today in Poland), the younger brother of Jakub Berman. Berman attended the Unive ...

, what Kossak had done to save Jewish lives.''La maison brulée'' (''The burned house''). A sixteen-year-old voluntary helper during the Warsaw insurrection. Anna Szatkowska, Les Éditions Noir sur Blanc, CH-1007 Lausanne, 2005 (in French) Kossak escaped to the West, but returned to Poland in 1957. Kossak-Szczucka published ''Z Otchłani'' (''From the Abyss'', 1946), based on her experiences of Auschwitz. ''Dziedzictwo'' (''Heritage''. 1956–67) is about the Kossak family. ''Przymierze'' (''The Covenant'', 1951) tells the story of Abraham. Kossak-Szczucka also wrote books for children and teenagers, including ''Bursztyn'' (1936) and ''Gród nad jeziorem'' (''Settlement by the Lake'', 1938). In 1964 she was one of the signatories of the so-called

Letter of 34 ''Letter of 34'' – two-sentence protest letter of Polish intellectuals against censorship in Communist Poland, addressed to the Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz, delivered on 14 March 1964 to by Antoni Słonimski. The name refers to the numb ...

to Prime Minister

Józef Cyrankiewicz Józef Adam Zygmunt Cyrankiewicz (; 23 April 1911 – 20 January 1989) was a Polish Socialist (PPS) and after 1948 Communist politician. He served as premier of the Polish People's Republic between 1947 and 1952, and again for 16 years between ...

regarding freedom of culture. In 1982 the

Institute in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

recognised Zofia Kossak as a Righteous Among Nations. In 2009, the

National Bank of Poland The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...

issued a coin posthumously commemorating the work of Kossak,

Irena Sendler Irena Stanisława Sendler (), also referred to as Irena Sendlerowa in Poland, ''nom de guerre'' Jolanta (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resista ...

and

Matylda Getter Matylda Getter (1870–1968) was a Polish Catholic nun, mother provincial of CSFFM (lat. ''Congregatio Sororum Franciscalium Familiae Mariae'') - Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary in Warsaw and social worker in pre-war Poland. In German ...

in helping Jews (see

). In 2018 Zofia Kossak was awarded the highest Polish order, the Order of the White Eagle. Zofia's daughter, Anna Szatkowska (15 March 1928, Górki Wielkie – 27 February 2015), wrote a book about her experience during the Warsaw Uprising.

Works

She was the author of many works, a number of which have been translated into English. Selected works: * ''Beatum scelus'' * ''Beatyfikacja Skargi'' * '' Bez oręża'' (1937) (English title: ''Blessed are The Meek'', 1944) * '' Błogosławiona wina'' (1953) * ''Błogosławiony Jan Sarkander ze Skoczowa'' * ''Bursztyny'' * ''Chrześcijańskie posłannictwo Polski'' * ''Oblicze Matki'' (''Das Antlitz der Mutter'', 1948) * ''Dziedzictwo'' * ''Dzień dzisiejszy'' (1931) * ''Gród nad jeziorem'' * ''Kielich krwi - obrazek sceniczny w dwóch aktach'' * ''Kłopoty Kacperka góreckiego skrzata'' (1924) (English title: ''The Troubles of a Gnome'', 1928) * ''Król trędowaty'' (1937) (English title: ''The Leper King'') * ''Krzyżowcy'' (1935) (English title: ''Angels in the Dust'') * ''Ku swoim'' (1932) * ''Legnickie pole'' (1931) * ''Na drodze'' * ''Na Śląsku'' * ''Nieznany kraj'' (1932) * ''Ognisty wóz'' * ''Pątniczym szlakiem. Wrażenia z pielgrzymki'' (1933) * ''Pod lipą'' * '' Pożoga'' (1922) (English title: ''The Blaze'', 1927) * ''Prometeusz i garncarz'' * ''Przymierze'' (1952) (English title: 'The Covenant'', 1951) * ''Purpurowy szlak'' * ''Puszkarz Orbano'' * ''Rewindykacja polskości na Kresach'' * ''Rok polski: obyczaj i wiara'' * ''S.O.S. ... !'' * ''Skarb Śląski'' (1937) * ''Suknia Dejaniry'' (English title: ''The Gift of Nessus'') * ''Szaleńcy Boży'' (1929) * ''Szukajcie przyjaciół'' (1933) * ''Topsy i Lupus'' (1931) * ''Trembowla'' * ''Troja północy'' with Zygmunt Szatkowski historic novel about

Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern German ...

* ''W Polsce Podziemnej: wybrane pisma dotyczące lat 1939 - 1944'' * ''Warna'' * ''Wielcy i mali'' (1927) * ''Wspomnienia z Kornwalii 1947-1957'' (2007) * ''Z dziejów Śląska'' * ''Z miłości'' (1925) * ''Z otchłani'' (1946) * ''Złota wolność'' (1928)

Notes

References

External links

*
Foundation of Zofia Kossak-Szczucka

– her activity to save Jews' lives during the

, at

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kossak-Szczucka, Zofia 1889 births 1968 deaths People from Puławy County People from Lublin Governorate Polish historical novelists Polish resistance members of World War II Polish Roman Catholics Female resistance members of World War II Roman Catholic writers Catholic Righteous Among the Nations Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Polish Righteous Among the Nations Warsaw Uprising insurgents Golden Laurel of the Polish Academy of Literature Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Warsaw Ghetto inmates Polish women novelists 20th-century Polish novelists 20th-century Polish women writers Women historical novelists Polish women in World War II resistance Żegota members Female anti-fascists