Żegota

Żegota Monument in Warsaw

Żegota [ ʒɛˈɡɔta ] was the code name for the Council for the Support of Jews ( Polish Rada Pomocy Żydom ), an underground organization in German-occupied Poland , which between 1942 and 1945 helped people to save themselves from the German Nazis and other anti-Semites. It was under the patronage of the Polish government in exile . It was the only organization of its kind in occupied Europe. With its help, thousands of Polish Jews were saved. For the Jews who were hiding on the “Aryan” side, forged personal documents were usually obtained and financial support and medical care were organized.

history

The Council for the Assistance of Jews was founded in December 1942 as a continuation of an earlier secret committee called the Provisional Committee for Jewish Aid (Polish: Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom ) and was founded in September 1942 by Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz .

In Warsaw alone , Żegota's children's department under Irena Sendler smuggled more than 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto and placed them with Polish families or in orphanages run by monasteries or city administrations.

The estimates of how many refugees were financially supported by the Żegota are far apart: The figures for Warsaw vary - depending on the period - between a few hundred to four thousand people. In the first half of 1944 Żegota supported three to four thousand people.

One of the most famous personalities who were active in the Żegota is the former Polish Foreign Minister Władysław Bartoszewski .

Web links

Commons : Żegota - collection of images, videos and audio files

Barbara Hans: Honored at the age of 97. Schindler's unknown sister. The mirror . March 18, 2007
Thomas Roser: Sendler's List . Tagesspiegel , April 22, 2003
Excerpts from the book Żegota by Irena Tomaszewska & Tecia Werbowski (Price-Patterson Ltd. Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1994) (English)
Zegota: Council to Aid Jews (English)

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Andrzej Sławiński: During the Second World War there were people who helped the Polish Jews . Retrieved March 31, 2013.
^ Andrzej Krasnowolski: "Żegota" - konspiracyjna Rada Pomocy Żydom w okupowanej Polsce 1942-1945. ( Memento of June 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) p. 12.
↑ Beate Kosmala: Unequal victims in an extreme situation - The difficulties of solidarity in occupied Poland. In: Wolfgang Benz , Juliane Wetzel (ed.): Solidarity and help for Jews during the Nazi era. Volume 1: Regional Studies. Volume 1: Poland, Romania, Greece, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland (= solidarity and help. Vol. 1). Metropol, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-926893-43-5 , pp. 19–97, here p. 43.
^ Poles under German Occupation . Institute for National Remembrance . Retrieved May 19, 2014.
↑ Waldemar Grabowski: Rada Pomocy Żydom “Żegota” w structure after Polskiego Państwa Podziemnego . Instytut Pamięci Narodowej , Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, 11 (120), 2010. p. 49.

[Slawinski-1] A ^b Andrzej Sławiński: During the Second World War there were people who helped the Polish Jews . Retrieved March 31, 2013.

[2] Andrzej Krasnowolski: "Żegota" - konspiracyjna Rada Pomocy Żydom w okupowanej Polsce 1942-1945. ( Memento of June 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) p. 12.

[3] Beate Kosmala: Unequal victims in an extreme situation - The difficulties of solidarity in occupied Poland. In: Wolfgang Benz , Juliane Wetzel (ed.): Solidarity and help for Jews during the Nazi era. Volume 1: Regional Studies. Volume 1: Poland, Romania, Greece, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland (= solidarity and help. Vol. 1). Metropol, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-926893-43-5 , pp. 19–97, here p. 43.

[4] Poles under German Occupation . Institute for National Remembrance . Retrieved May 19, 2014.

[5] Waldemar Grabowski: Rada Pomocy Żydom “Żegota” w structure after Polskiego Państwa Podziemnego . Instytut Pamięci Narodowej , Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, 11 (120), 2010. p. 49.