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Zegota: The Council for Aid to Jews in Occupied Poland 1942-1945

Discussion in 'Eastern Europe February 1943 to End of War' started by JCFalkenbergIII, Aug 6, 2008.

  1. JCFalkenbergIII

    JCFalkenbergIII Expert

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    Żegota (ʒε:gɔta) was the codename for the Council for Aid to Jews (Rada Pomocy Żydom), an underground organization in Nazi-occupied Poland from 1942 to 1945. It operated under the auspices of the Polish Government in Exile through the Delegatura, its presence in Warsaw.
    Contents
    http://www.historiazydow.edu.pl/gfx_wyst_zywpl/panel17_r08.jpg
    Polish family sentenced to death for helpig Jews

    History

    The Council for Aid to Jews was the continuation of an earlier secret committee set up for this purpose, called the Provisional Committee for Aid to Jews (Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Żydom), founded in September 1942 by Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz. Another well-known member was Władysław Bartoszewski, later Polish Foreign Minister (1995, 2000). Made up of democratic Catholic activists, the Provisional Committee had 180 persons under its care within a short time. Żegota, founded in December of 1942, was a brainchild of Henryk Woliński.
    http://www.historiazydow.edu.pl/gfx_wyst_zywpl/panel15_r07.jpg
    Jewish kids pass ghetto wals in search of food
    Composition

    During the war, Żegota was the only underground organization that was run jointly by Jews and non-Jews from a wide range of political movements, and the only one that, despite the arrests of some of its members, was able to operate for a considerable length of time and to extend help to Jews in so many different ways. Politically, the organization was formed by Polish underground parties ranging from the socialist (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna) to centrist (Stronnictwo Demokratyczne) and rightist (Front Odrodzenia Polski), and included Jewish organizations operating underground on the "Aryan" side: the Jewish National Council (Zydowski Komitet Narodowy) and the Bund.
    Jewish.org.pl - 404 Nie odnaleziono pliku
    ghetto wals under construction

    Activities

    Żegota saved some 75,000 Polish Jews and produced some 60,000 false identities and documents creating refuge for Jews among the Polish gentiles on the so-called "Aryan" side of the German-occupied Poland.

    The German occupying forces made concealing Jews a crime punishable by death for everyone living in a house where Jews were discovered. A difficult problem therefore was to find hiding places for persons who looked Jewish. Żegota was on a constant lookout for suitable accommodations. No exact count can be given of the magnitude of this form of aid by Żegota, but it appears to have been great.

    Children were put in the care of foster families, into public orphanages, or similar institutions maintained by convents. The foster families were told that the children were relatives, distant or close, and they were paid by Żegota for the children's care. In Warsaw alone, Żegota's children department, headed by Irena Sendler, cared for 2,500 Jewish children smuggled from the Warsaw Ghetto.

    Medical attention for the Jews in hiding was also made available. Żegota had ties with many ghettos and camps. It also made numerous efforts to induce the Polish Government in Exile and the Delegatura to appeal to the Polish population to help the persecuted Jews.
    Jewish.org.pl - 404 Nie odnaleziono pliku
    Juden verboten - Jews aren't allowed here
    Postwar recognition

    Members of Żegota were memorialised in Israel in 1963 with a planting of a tree in the Avenue of the Righteous at Yad Vashem. Władysław Bartoszewski was present at the event.

    http://www.the614thcs.com/content/images/4da67b9e8a7c515c1c7ead63d444b804.jpg
    Irena Sendlerowa recives medal for her work

    * “Żegota is the story of extraordinary heroism amidst unique depravity – compelling in its human as well as historical dimensions. It is a particularly valuable addition to our understanding of the many facets of the Holocaust because Żegota as an organized effort was tantamount to ‘Schindler’s List’ multiplied a hundredfold.” ― Zbigniew Brzeziński



    much better article you will find here: World War 2: Zegota - Council for Aid to Jews but it was too big so i took Wikipedia one.

    Zegota: The Council for Aid to Jews in Occupied Poland 1942-1945 [Archive] - Military Photos
     

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