This year, for the second time, we celebrated the National Day of Remembrance of Poles who saved Jews under German occupation.
The ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was attended by representatives of state and local government authorities, including Jan Józef Kasprzyk, Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression; Jarosław Szarek, President of the Institute of National Remembrance; Anna Stupnicka-Bando, President of the Polish Society of the Righteous Among the Nations; and Albert Stankowski, Director of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum. Undersecretary of State Wojciech Kolarski read a letter from President Andrzej Duda. It included the words, "Today we must pay tribute to our compatriots who, during World War II, risked the greatest risk to save Jews." Jarosław Szarek, President of the Institute of National Remembrance, said that "we commemorate a special army, without uniforms or rifles." On this special day, the contributions of the Righteous were emphasized, as well as the duty of Poles to cultivate the memory of those who risked their lives to save others. After all, when there are no witnesses, their memory will remain.
At 53 Hoża Street – home of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary – a plaque dedicated to Mother Superior Matylda Getter was unveiled, and wreaths were laid at the site, including those from the Warsaw Ghetto Museum. In September 1939, this very building housed a first aid station, which sheltered approximately 500 civilians injured in the war. In 1944, this station became a hospital for the insurgents. Throughout the occupation, the sisters ran a kitchen there, which served approximately 300 poor people daily. Matylda Getter directed the aid operation from her headquarters. She collaborated with clandestine prison cells to issue new documents for those being prosecuted by the Germans. She utilized the congregation's network of orphanages – including those in Anin, Białołęka, Chotomów, Płudy, and Warsaw – to hide Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto.
In 1942, Matylda Getter decided that her congregation would accept every child from the ghetto – she collaborated with Irena Sendler. Thanks to this action, Franciscan sisters from all provinces managed to save several hundred people condemned to extermination. Mother Matylda was posthumously awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal for rescuing Jews.
As part of the commemorations, an exhibition entitled "Sisters, (...) Mothers of Jewish Children. Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary and the Holocaust during World War II" was opened at 53 Hoża Street. It is dedicated to the life and work of Mother Matylda Getter. A commemorative stamp from the Polish Post from the "Poles Saving Jews" series was presented.
Photo: Kama Pawlicka
Edited by Anna Kilian
