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The Ulma family () or Józef and Wiktoria Ulma with Seven Children () were a Polish Catholic family in Markowa,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, during the
Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
occupation in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
who attempted to rescue Polish Jewish families by hiding them in their own home during the Holocaust. They and their children were summarily executed on 24 March 1944 for doing so.Mateusz Szpytma
"The Righteous and their world. Markowa through the lens of Józef Ulma"
,
Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
, Poland.
Instytut Pamięci Narodowej
Wystawa „Sprawiedliwi wśród Narodów Świata”– 15 czerwca 2004 r., Rzeszów.
"Polacy pomagali Żydom podczas wojny, choć groziła za to kara śmierci – o tym wie większość z nas." (''Exhibition "Righteous among the Nations." Rzeszów, 15 June 2004. Subtitled: "The Poles were helping Jews during the war - most of us already know that."''); accessed 8 November 2008.
Notably, despite the murder of the Ulmas—meant to strike fear into the hearts of villagers—their neighbours continued to hide Jewish fugitives until the
end of World War II in Europe The end of World War II in Europe occurred in May 1945. Following the Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April, leadership of Nazi Germany passed to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and the Flensburg Government. Soviet Union, Soviet t ...
. At least 21
Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
survived in Markowa during the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany. In 1995 the adult Ulmas have been recognized by the
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as
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
. They are venerated in the
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as
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
s following their
beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
by
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in 2023; their
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is celebrated on 7 July (day of the anniversary of Józef and Wiktoria's wedding).


Biography


Józef Ulma

Józef Ulma (2 March 1900 – 24 March 1944) from the Village of Markowa near in
Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
, son of Marcin Ulma and Franciszka Ulma (''née'' Kluz), well-off farmers. In 1911, he took short courses in a general school. In his youth, he became involved in social activities. At the age of seventeen, he was a member of the association in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Przemyśl, whose purpose, apart from prayer, was to collect funds for the construction and maintenance of churches and chapels. In addition, he became an active member of the Catholic Youth Association and later the Rural Youth Association. At this time he worked as a
librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...
and
photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...
. He was also known locally for his passions in gardening, beekeeping, and bookbinding. In 1921 to 1922, he completed his compulsory
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...
in
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. From 1 November 1929 to 31 March 1930, he studied at the National Agricultural School in
Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...
. After obtaining a diploma, he became a market gardener, growing fruit trees, raising bees and silkworms. In 1933, he received an award from the Przeworsk District Agricultural Society for these activities. He was the first to introduce electricity to Markowa. Furthermore, he was passionate about photography, and indulged in it during cultural events in his village and during family celebrations. He also wrote articles for a local weekly newspaper. In addition, he was a member of the Agricultural Circle and other organizations.


Wiktoria Ulma

Wiktoria Ulma, ''née'' Niemczak, (10 December 1912 – 24 March 1944) from the Village of Markowa near in
Łańcut Łańcut (, ; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the Capital (political), capital of Łańcut County. History Archeological investigat ...
, daughter of Jan Niemczak and Franciscka Niemczak (''née'' Homa). Her mother died when she was six years old. She completed her primary and secondary education in her hometown, after which she took courses at the People's University in Gać. In her hometown, she was a member of an amateur theater troupe. Wiktoria was an educated housewife, taking care of the home and the children. Through hard work, persistence and determination, the Ulmas were able to purchase a bigger farm ( in size) in Wojsławice near Sokal (now
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
), and had already begun planning a relocation when the war began. Józef and Wiktoria married on 7 July 1935. After their marriage, they earned their living as farmers on a small farm they owned. Together they had six children and were expecting their seventh: * Stanisława (born 18 July 1936), aged 7 * Barbara (born 6 October 1937), aged 6 * Władysław (born 5 December 1938), aged 5 * Franciszek (born 3 April 1940), aged 3 * Antoni (born 6 June 1941), aged 2 * Maria (born 16 September 1942), aged 1 * Unborn child, aged 8 months The couple were active members in the Church of Saint Dorothy in Markowa. They deepened their faith through family prayer and participation in the sacramental life of the church. They both belonged to the Association of the Living Rosary. After the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Józef was mobilized and took part in the Polish campaign.


Holocaust rescue


Extermination of Jews in Markowa

Before
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, nearly 30 Jewish families (about 120 people) lived in Markowa, near
Łańcut Łańcut (, ; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the Capital (political), capital of Łańcut County. History Archeological investigat ...
. After the beginning of the German occupation, the village was incorporated into the Jarosław County within the
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
. In late July or early August 1942, Jarosław County became part of
Operation Reinhard Operation Reinhard or Operation Reinhardt ( or ; also or ) was the codename of the secret Nazi Germany, German plan in World War II to exterminate History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied ...
. The local Jews were gathered in a transit camp in Pełkinie, from where they were transported either to the
Belzec extermination camp Belzec (English: or , Polish: , approximately ) was a Nazi German extermination camp in occupied Poland. It was built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all Polish Jews, a major p ...
or executed in the forests near Wólka Pełkińska. In some villages and settlements, residents were murdered on the spot. Only a few Jews from Markowa, probably no more than 6 or 8 people, heeded the German authorities' call and reported for the supposed "resettlement". The rest, numbering around several dozen, went into hiding. Some found shelter with Polish families, while others hid in farm buildings without the knowledge of the owners or roamed the nearby forests and fields. The fugitives were hunted by German gendarmes and Polish Blue Police officers, who killed any Jews they captured. The largest manhunt for Jews hiding in Markowa occurred on 13 December 1942. It was ordered by the village head, Andrzej Kud, at the behest of the German authorities. Members of the local fire brigade and village watch, possibly supported by Blue Police officers and ordinary villagers, participated in the manhunt. Between a dozen and 25 Jewish men, women, and children were captured. They spent the night of 13/14 December in the local jail. The next day, German gendarmes arrived from Łańcut and executed all the Jews at an old trench, which was also used as an animal burial site. According to Jakub Einhorn, a Jew from Markowa who survived the German occupation, the Poles involved in the manhunt were notably zealous and even brutal. The Jews detained in the jail were reportedly tortured and robbed; a young Jewish woman was said to have been repeatedly raped. However, the credibility of Einhorn's account is disputed.After the war, criminal proceedings were initiated against several residents of Markowa on suspicion of involvement in crimes against the Jewish population. The accusations were mostly based on the testimony of Jakub Einhorn. However, none of the suspects were ultimately convicted. This was partly due to the courts deeming Einhorn's testimony insufficiently credible. During the proceedings, it was demonstrated that some of the events he claimed to have witnessed firsthand were, in fact, known to him only through third-party accounts ().


Aid given to Jews by the Ulma family

In the summer and autumn of 1942, the Nazi
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
deported several
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish families of Markowa as part of
Operation Reinhard Operation Reinhard or Operation Reinhardt ( or ; also or ) was the codename of the secret Nazi Germany, German plan in World War II to exterminate History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in the General Government district of German-occupied ...
, the Nazi plan to exterminate
Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
in the
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
district of German-
occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...
. Only those who were hidden in Polish peasants' homes survived. Eight Jews found shelter with the Ulmas: six members of the Szall (Szali) family from
Łańcut Łańcut (, ; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the Capital (political), capital of Łańcut County. History Archeological investigat ...
including father, mother and four sons, as well as the two daughters of Chaim Goldman, Golda (Gienia) and Layka (Lea) Didner.Chaim Goldman was most likely the brother of Saul Goldman from Łańcut ().Wlodzimierz Redzioch, interview with Mateusz Szpytma, historian from the
Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
(4 March 2016)
"They gave up their lives."
Tygodnik ''Niedziela'' weekly, 16/2007, Editor-in-chief: Fr Ireneusz Skubis
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
, Poland. Internet Archive.
Józef Ulma put all eight Jews in the attic. They learned to help him with supplementary jobs while in hiding, to ease the incurred expenses. The two Jewish families hidden by the Ulmas stayed at their farm until the spring of 1944. No extraordinary precautions were taken to hide them. The Jews lived in the attic of the house, and retreated to the attic only at night or in times of danger. The Ulmas were supported in their efforts by Józef's close friend, Antoni Szpytma.


Arrest and execution

The Ulma family were denounced by Włodzimierz Leś, a member of the Blue Police, who had taken possession of the Szall (Szali) family's real estate in Łańcut in spring 1944 and wanted to get rid of its rightful owners. As a Greek Catholic from the village of Biała near
Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...
, which was considered "Ruthenian", he is often referred to as Ukrainian in various sources. are highly critical of attributing Ukrainian origins to Leś. In their view, ''this assumption, repeated in all texts about the Ulma family, serves to diffuse responsibility for the betrayal''. Before the war, Leś had connections with the Goldman family. In the early period of the occupation, he agreed to shelter them in exchange for part of their property. However, when the Germans intensified their repression against those hiding Jews, Leś refused further help and seized the property left under his care. The Goldman family then took refuge with the Ulmas, but they continued to demand the return of their property from Leś. Probably wanting to rid himself of the rightful owners of the seized property, Leś betrayed the Goldman family and the Ulma family hiding them to the German gendarmerie. He had previously visited the Ulmas under the pretense of asking for a photograph, ensuring during that visit that the Goldman family was hiding in their home.


Course of the massacre

In the early morning hours of 24 March 1944 a patrol of German police from Łańcut under Lieutenant Eilert Dieken came to the Ulmas' house which was on the outskirts of the village. The four coachmen with horses and carts were instructed to report to the town stables and await further instructions. According to the German orders, each coachman was to come from a different village, with none from Markowa. On March 24, around 1:00 AM, the coachmen were ordered to drive to the gendarmerie post and transport a group of German gendarmes and Polish Blue Policemen to Markowa. The expedition was personally led by Lieutenant , the commander of the Łańcut gendarmerie. He was accompanied by four other Germans: Josef Kokott (a ''
Volksdeutsche In Nazi Germany, Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had Germans, German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of ''wikt:volksdeutsch, volksdeutsch'', with denoting ...
'' from
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
), Michael Dziewulski, Gustaw Unbehend, and Erich Wilde (a ''Volksdeutsche'' from the Lublin Land). Additionally, from 4 to 6 members of the Polish Blue Police participated in the operation. The names of two policemen were identified: Eustachy Kolman and Włodzimierz Leś. Just before dawn, the wagons arrived in Markowa. The Germans ordered the coachmen to stay aside while they, along with the Blue Policemen, proceeded to the Ulma farm. Leaving the policemen as guards, the Germans surrounded the house and caught all eight Jews belonging to the Szali and Goldman families. They shot them in the back of the head according to eyewitness Edward Nawojski and others, who were ordered to watch the executions. Then the German gendarmes killed the pregnant Wiktoria and her husband so that the villagers would see what punishment awaited them for hiding Jews. The six children began to scream at the sight of their parents' bodies. After consulting with his superior, twenty-three year old Jan Kokott, a Czech
Volksdeutsche In Nazi Germany, Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had Germans, German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of ''wikt:volksdeutsch, volksdeutsch'', with denoting ...
r from
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
serving with the German police, shot three or four of the Polish children while the other Polish children were murdered by the remaining gendarmes. The last of the Jews to be killed was the 70-year-old father of the Goldman brothers. Within several minutes 17 people were killed. It is likely that during the mass execution Wiktoria went into labour because the witness to her exhumation testified that he saw a head of a newborn baby between her legs. The names of the other Nazi executioners are also known from their frequent presence in the village (Eilert Dieken, Michael Dziewulski and Erich Wilde). After the massacre, the Germans began looting the Ulma farm and the belongings of the murdered Jews. Kokott seized a box of valuables found on Gołda Grünfeld's body. The plundering was so extensive that Dieken had to summon two additional wagons from Markowa to transport all the stolen goods. The village
Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...
() Teofil Kielar was ordered to bury the victims with the help of other witnesses. He asked the German commander, whom he had known from prior inspections and food acquisitions, why the children too had been killed. Dieken answered in German, "So that you would not have any problems with them." Another gendarme, Gustaw Unbehend, asked about the reason for the murder of children, to which Dieken replied, "I am the commander, and I know what I'm doing". At the request of the Poles who had been brought to bury the dead, the gendarmes agreed to bury the Ulmas and the Jews in separate graves. The massacre concluded with a drinking session held at the scene (for which the village leader had to supply the Germans with three liters of vodka). After it ended, the gendarmes and Blue Policemen returned to Łańcut with six wagons full of looted goods. On 11 January 1945, in defiance of the Nazi prohibition, relatives of the Ulmas exhumed the bodies, which were originally buried in front of the house, and found Wiktoria's seventh child, emerged from her womb, in the parents' grave pit. A funeral was later held in the Church of Saint Dorothy in Markowa and the family's remains were then buried in Markowa cemetery.


Aftermath

A report from the local commander of the People's Security Guard noted that the massacre of the Ulma family "made a very unpleasant impression on the Polish population". Yehuda Erlich, who had been hiding in the vicinity of Markowa during the occupation, wrote an account in which he mentioned that the crime had so profoundly shocked the local population that 24 Jews were later found dead in the area around Markowa, killed by their Polish caretakers out of fear of denunciation. His account is cited, among other places, in the information about the Ulma family on the
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
Institute's website. In 2011, , a historian at the
Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
and a researcher of the Ulma family's history, speculated in the magazine ' that the massacre Erlich mentioned may have occurred in the neighboring village of Sietesz, likely two years before the Ulmas' deaths. In an article published three years later, he pointed out that no other account or archival document confirms that bodies of murdered Jews were found in the fields near Markowa. He also suggested that Erlich's memory might have conflated the execution of the Ulma family with the roundups of Jews hiding in Markowa and Sietesz, which took place in 1942 with the involvement of local Poles.At the same time, Erlich was not an eyewitness to any of these events (). However, Jan Grabowski and
Dariusz Libionka Dariusz Marian Libionka (born 25 June 1963 in Bielsko-Biała) is a Polish historian affiliated with the Institute of National Remembrance in Lublin. Life Dariusz Libionka graduated from the Catholic University of Lublin (''KUL'') and the School f ...
are convinced of the accuracy of Erlich's account. At least 21 Jews survived the war in Markowa, hiding with Polish families, although not all of the survivors were residents of the village.


Commemoration

On 13 September 1995, Józef and Wiktoria Ulma were posthumously bestowed the titles of
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
by
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
. Their medals of honor were presented to Józef's surviving brother, Władysław Ulma. Their certificate states that they tried to save Jews at the risk of their lives, but fails to mention that they died for them, as noted in the book ''Godni synowie naszej Ojczyzny''. On 24 March 2004, the 60th anniversary of their execution, a stone memorial was erected in the village of Markowa to honor the memory of the Ulma family. The inscription on the memorial reads: At the unveiling of the monument, the Archbishop of Przemyśl, Archbishop Józef Michalik – the President of the Polish Bishops' Conference – celebrated a solemn
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
. The local diocesan level of the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in Poland initiated the Ulmas'
beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
process in 2003.Anna Domin (2015)
Słudzy Boży - Józef i Wiktoria Ulmowie z Dziećmi.
''Nasi patronowie.'' Stowarzyszenie Szczęśliwy Dom. Internet Archive.
The
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
Secretary of State Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...
spoke in Rome of the heroic Polish family on 24 January 2007 during the inauguration of the Italian edition of
Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of 88 books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish history inc ...
's book ''I giusti. Gli eroi sconosciuti dell'Olocausto'' ("The Righteous. Unknown Heroes of the Holocaust"). Special commemorations were held in Markowa on 24 March 2007 – 63 years after the Ulma, Szall and Goldman families were massacred. Mass was celebrated, followed by the Way of the Cross with the intention of the Ulma family's beatification. Among the guests was the President of the Council of
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, who laid flowers at the monument to the dead. The students of the local high school presented their own interpretation of the Ulmas' family decision to hide Jews in a short performance entitled ''Eight Beatitudes''. There was also an evening of poetry dedicated to the memory of the murdered. Older neighbors and relatives who knew them spoke about the life of the Ulmas. One historian from the
Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
presented archival documents; and, the Catholic diocesan postulator explained the requirements of the beatification process. On 24 May 2011, the completed documentation of their martyrdom was passed on to Rome for completion of the beatification process.Fight Hatred (27 May 2011)
"Sainthood for Martyred Polish Jew-Defenders"
Jabotinsky International Center; accessed 30 August 2016.
The fate of the Ulmas became a symbol of martyrdom of Poles killed by the Germans for helping Jews. A new Polish "National day of the Ulma family" has first been suggested by the former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. Subsequently, the growing support for a more formal commemoration inspired the Sejmik of Podkarpackie Voivodeship to name 2014 the Year of the Ulma family ''(Rok Rodziny Ulmów)''. The new Markowa Ulma-Family Museum of Poles Who Saved Jews in World War II was scheduled to be completed in 2015. Polskie Radio (24 March 2014)
Ulmowie poświęcili życie by ratować Żydów. 70. rocznica niemieckiej zbrodni
(On the 70th Anniversary of the Ulma Martyrdom); PolskieRadio.pl; accessed 30 August 2016.
On 17 March 2016, The Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II was opened in Markowa in presence of the President of Poland,
Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as the sixth president of Poland since 2015. Before becoming president, he served as a Member of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014 and before becoming Member of ...
.


Cause of beatification

On 17 September 2003, the Diocese of Pelplin, Bishop Jan Bernard Szlaga initiated the beatification process of 122 Polish martyrs who died during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, including Józef and Wiktoria Ulma with their seven children among the others. On 20 February 2017, the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...
was allowed to take over management of the process of Ulma family by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Przemyśl. On 18 December 2022,
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
declared the entire family to be martyrs and determined that they would be beatified on 10 September 2023, a celebration that was held in their native Markowa and presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro on the Pope's behalf. Between 30 March and 1 April 2023, the remains of the Ulma family were exhumed in preparation for their
beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
, after which they would be placed in a sarcophagus, prepared in advance, in the side altar dedicated in the Church of Saint Dorothy in Markowa. The beatification of the Ulma family is unique within the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, as they are the first family to be beatified together in the history of the church in the 21st century. After some news reports suggested that the beatification would represent the first beatification of an unborn or pre-born child, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints released an official clarification on 5 September 2023, stating that "this nnamedchild was delivered at the time of his mother's martyrdom" (based on the evidence that his remains were found emerged from his mother's womb in the original grave), and he was therefore included with the other martyred Ulma children, under the Catholic doctrine of baptism of blood.


Accountability of the perpetrators

Shortly after the Germans murdered the Ulma family and the Jews they were sheltering, the local unit of the People's Security Guard initiated actions to identify the informant. Their investigation suggested that Włodzimierz Leś betrayed the Ulma family. The officer did not survive the war; on 10 September 1944, a few weeks after the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
entered Łańcut, he was shot by the Polish underground. It is possible that he was executed by the verdict of the Civil Special Court in
Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
, although neither the sentence nor its justification has survived. Only one of the German participants in the murder of the Ulma family and the Jews they sheltered was brought to justice: the gendarme Josef Kokott. He was arrested in Czechoslovakia in 1957 and extradited to Poland. On 30 August 1958, the provincial court in
Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...
sentenced him to death. However, the State Council of the Polish People's Republic commuted his sentence to life imprisonment and later to 25 years in prison. Kokott died in 1980 in a prison in Racibórz (according to other sources, in
Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...
). The leader of the punitive expedition, Lieutenant Eilert Dieken, worked as a policeman in Esens, West Germany, after the war. The
Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...
prosecutor's office investigated his activities in occupied Poland as part of an inquiry into crimes committed in Jarosław County. However, the investigation was closed in 1971 after it was determined that Dieken had died many years earlier of natural causes (in 1960). Erich Wilde died in August 1944. Michael Dziewulski evaded criminal responsibility after the war.


See also

* List of saints of Poland * Polish Righteous Among the Nations


Notes


References


Bibliography


The Righteous and their world. Markowa through the lens of Józef Ulma, by Mateusz Szpytma
,
Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state research institute in charge of education and archives which also includes two public prosecutio ...
, Poland *Gisele Hildebrandt, Otto Adamski
"Markowa"
''Dorfimfersuchungen in dem alten deutsch-ukrainischen Grenzbereich von Landshuf''. 1943. Kraków.

* ttp://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/righteous/ulma.asp Józef and Wiktoria Ulmaat the Israeli Holocaust memorial – ''Yad Vashem''
Martyred and Blessed Together: The Extraordinary Story of the Ulma Family
* * * * *


External links


Heroic Ulma family beatifiedWATCH The saintly lives and heroic deaths of the Ulma family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulma, Jozef And Wiktoria 1944 deaths People from Łańcut County Married couples Polish Roman Catholics Polish civilians killed in World War II People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church Polish Righteous Among the Nations Catholic Righteous Among the Nations 20th-century venerated Christians Beatifications by Pope Francis Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era Polish beatified people Polish people executed by Nazi Germany for aiding Jews Children killed in World War II by Nazi Germany History of Subcarpathian Voivodeship