A Tribute To The Polish
Righteous Among Nations –
The Ulma Family Museum
- PostEagle
- March 15, 2016
- Uncategorized
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NEW YORK CITY – The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Cultural Institute of New York present “A TRIBUTE TO THE POLISH RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS” to mark the opening of The Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II in Markowa, Poland. The opening will be held on Monday, March 21st from 7 to 10 pm at the Consulate General, 233 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016.
Poland was the only country in occupied Europe where giving aid to Jews was punishable by execution, not only of the individual, but of their entire family. Despite this fact, more Poles are commemorated by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations than citizens of any other country. Among these were the Ulma family – recognized by Yad Vashem in 1995. The Ulma Family Museum honors the memory of the eight Ulmas – including six children and their pregnant mother – executed by the Germans for sheltering Jews during the Second World War. The aim of the Museum, located in Markowa, Poland, is to commemorate and raise awareness of Poles who risked their lives during the Nazi German occupation to give aid to Jewish people sentenced to annihilation by the Third Reich.
The program will include opening remarks by Consul General Urszula Gacek and Director of the Polish Cultural Institute Agata Grenda, followed by a video presentation of the Museum, a report from the March 17 Museum opening, and a showing of the exhibition The Good Samaritans from Markowa.
Special guest Jeannie Opdyke Smith will join us after attending the Museum opening in Markowa on March 17. She is the daughter of Irene Gut Opdyke, a Polish Catholic rescuer who risked her life to shelter twelve Jews during the war. Irene Opdyke’s amazing story inspired the 2009 Broadway play Irena’s Vow, which was staged in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute New York. In 1982, the Israeli Holocaust Commission honored Opdyke as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. In 2008 she was posthumously awarded the Commander’s Cross – the Polish medal of honor, presented by the President and First Lady of Poland, and in 2009 she was granted the Courage to Care award by the Anti-Defamation League at a special ceremony in Washington, DC.
For more information contact the Public Affairs Section of the Polish Consulate newyork.publicaffairs@msz.gov.pl or call 646-237-2114.
