705 Polish Righteous were killed for helping Jews S 2

Over 705 Polish Righteous among the Nations were murdered by the Germans for aiding or sheltering their

Jewish neighbors. These Poles were only a small percentage of the thousands reportedly executed by the

German Nazis for aiding Jews. "Władysław Bartoszewski, who worked for Żegota during the war estimates

that 'at least several hundred thousand Poles... participated in various ways and forms in the rescue action.'

Recent research suggests that a million Poles were involved" in the rescue of Jews,"but some estimates go

as high as three million." Similarly, "estimates of the number of Poles who perished at the hands of the

Germans for aiding Jews vary from a few thousand [see above] to fifty thousand" according to different

research.

How many people in Poland rescued Jews? Of those that meet Yad Vashems criteria—perhaps 100,000. Of

those that offered minor forms of help—perhaps two or three times as many. Of those who were passively

protective—undoubtedly the majority of the population. — Gunnar S. Paulsson

Would you risk your own life and your family's to save another human being?
Germans selected occupied Poland as the only country where aiding a Jew, be it only to give him a slice of

bread, was immediately punished by death. Failure to inform on a neighbor hiding Jews meant deportation to

a GERMAN NAZI Concentration and Extermination Camp(1939-1945) AUSCHWITZ, BUCHENWALD,

DACHAU, BERGEN BELSEN, Ravensbrück, SACHSENHAUSEN, MAUTHAUSEN, NEUENGAMME,

GROSS-ROSEN, SZUCHA, PAWIAK, PALMIRY.

On August 22, 1939, a week before his attack on Poland, Hitler exhorted his nation: "Kill without pity or mercy

all men, women and children of Polish descent or language. Only in this way can we obtain the living space

we need." As many as 200,000 Polish children, deemed to have "Germanic" (Aryan) features, were forcibly

taken to Germany to be raised as Germans, and had their birth records falsified. Very few of these children

were reunited with their families after the war.
More than 500 towns and villages were burned, over 16 thousand persons, mostly Polish Christians, were

killed in 714 mass executions of which 60% were carried out by the Wehrmacht (German army) and 40% by

the SS and Gestapo. In Bydgoszcz the first victims were boy scouts from 12 to 16 years old, shot in the

marketplace. All this happened in the first eight weeks of the war. See Richard C. Lucas, The Forgotten

Holocaust; The Poles under German Occupation. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky [c1986].

According to the AB German Plan, Poles were to become a people without education, slaves for the German

overlords. Secondary schools were closed; studying, keeping radios, or arms of any kind, or practicing any

kind of trade were prohibited under the threat of death.
Out of its pre-war population of 36 million, Poland lost 22%, a higher percentage than any other country in

Europe. The heaviest losses were sustained by educated classes, youth and democratic forces that could

have challenged totalitarianism. See I. C. Pogonowski, Poland: A Historical Atlas. New York, Hippocrene

Books, 1987.
Righteous Among the Nations:
POLAND- 6066 - more than from any other German Nazi-occupied country
Total Persons- 22,211

Zegota-Council for Aid to Jews in Occupied Poland(1939-1945). ZEGOTA (in Polish: ŻEGOTA) was the only

government-sponsored (London-based Polish Government-in-Exile) social welfare agency established to

rescue Jews in German-occupied EUROPE.

The German occupying forces made concealing Jews a crime punishable by death for everyone living in a

house where Jews were discovered. Although this penalty was rarely enforced in practice - it is estimated

that some 705 Poles were killed for hiding Jews.

The stories of the rescuers are a shining example of the most selfless sacrifice, surpassing in its heroism that

of all the soldiers on the battlefield, whom we commemorate each November. In fact the soldier must fight; he

cannot refuse. He is sustained by the entire military organization and his efforts are mostly limited to battles

that have a clear beginning and end. He is paid and given the food, supplies and weapons that he needs.
Rescuers of Jews in German-occupied Poland were alone, often deprived of their pre-war means of

livelihood, expelled from their farms, factories, businesses, offices and even homes, most of them living in

dire poverty. All found it virtually impossible to earn a living. They were under no legal obligation to risk their

own lives and, even more, those of their families and neighbors. Their help most often lasted days and

nights, weeks, months, even years, always in secret, and always risking discovery. To save one person

sometimes several dozens of people risked their lives.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• 705
• Polish
• Righteous
• were
• killed
• for
• helping
• Jews
• Poland
• Poles
• save
• ww2
• zamosc
• auschwitz
• Ucia
• Cinnia
• Fuchs
• Szparkowski
• Jozef
• Lidia
• Hennefeld
• Pawiak

[Achilles11Spear]

real heros