In the summer and autumn of 1942, in the General Government (GG), the Germans carried out mass deportations of the Jewish population to extermination camps. These actions, code-named Operation ‘Reinhardt’, aimed to exterminate all the Jews from that area. The few who managed to escape deportation sought refuge on the so-called Aryan side. In these dramatic circumstances, a handful of people set up the Council for Aid to Jews ‘Żegota’ – an institution intended to help them, a unique organisation in the whole of occupied Europe.
by Martyna Grądzka-Rejak
The first ‘Protest’(s)!
In 1942, the German policy towards the Jewish population in the GG took on a new face. In one document compiled by members of the underground group ‘Oneg Shabbat’ (Hebrew for ‘Joy of Saturday’) operating in the Warsaw Ghetto, it was called the ‘second stage’, to distinguish it from its earlier activities – the anti-Jewish legislation regulating almost all areas of life, and the stage of creating ghettos and confining Jews in them. In mid-March of 1942, Germans began to implement their genocidal plans; actions referred to as Operation ‘Reinhardt’. The first transports of the Jewish population were sent to the extermination camp in Belzec from Lublin and Lwów. In March and April, Jews from other towns in the districts of Lublin and Galicia were transported there to be killed. From June onwards, the Jewish residents of the Krakow district shared the same fate. Simultaneously, two more extermination centres were being built – in Sobibor and Treblinka. On 22 July 1942, the largest-scale deportation began. That day, the Germans launched what is referred to as the ‘Great Action’ (Grossaktion), i.e. the deportation of the Jewish population from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka extermination camp. On successive hot summer days, until 21 September, several thousand people – women, children and men – were sent there daily in crowded trains from the so-called Umschlagplatz on Stawki Street. The overall balance of the operation was tragic, with more than 260,000 Jews transported to their deaths in the gas chambers and several thousand killed within the ghetto. Initially, it was not known where the overflowing transports were going. However, when information began to arrive that their destination was an extermination camp, the first steps were taken on the Aryan side to first report the scale of events and subsequently try to help those who could still be helped.
These actions were not coordinated or planned. They took place both at the level of the underground state’s institutions, as well as organisations and individuals. One organisation providing assistance to those in need, including the Jewish population, was the Catholic, socio-educational Front for the Rebirth of Poland. It was headed by Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, and her closest collaborators included: Maria Lasocka, Witold Bieńkowski, Ignacy Barski and Władysław Bartoszewski. It was through their efforts, and in particular thanks to Kossak-Szczucka that, twenty-one days after the launch of the Grossaktion, leaflets containing the text of the Protest against these actions were distributed on the streets of the occupied Polish capital. This was one of the first public reactions to the Holocaust. Famous among them are two dispatches by Stefan Korboński aka Nowak, head of the Directorate of Civil Resistance (Polish acronym: KWC) (dated 26 July and 11 August) about the deportations to the East and the murder of the population of the Warsaw Ghetto. On 29 July 1942, a broadcast on the subject was made from London, and on the same day it was also mentioned in a broadcast by the Kosciuszko radio station from Moscow.
The text of Protest pointed out what fate had befallen the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto and described the circumstances and conditions under which they had been deported. It emphasised: ‘The world is observing this crime, more terrible than anything history has ever seen – and it remains silent. The slaughter of millions of defenceless people is taking place amidst a widespread, ominous silence. […] This silence can no longer be tolerated. Whatever its motives, it is despicable. One cannot remain passive in the face of a crime. Whoever remains silent in the face of murder becomes an accomplice to the murderer. Whoever does not condemn it, condones it.’ Admittedly, it was noted in the document that its authors still saw the Jews as enemies of Poland, but at that particular moment they saw them first and foremost as people in need of help and encouraged Polish society to do so. Kossak-Szczucka’s ‘Protest’ constituted a part of other actions taken by her and her co-workers in support of Ghetto escapees. As far as possible, they supported them materially and helped them find shelter, inter alia, in Church institutions.
Read more: Protest!
A Committee to pave the way
Following the events of the summer of 1942, the need for a secret organisation to help Jews was discussed at the Information and Propaganda Bureau of the Home Army Headquarters. The initiative was supported by Commander Stefan ‘Grot’ Rowecki. On behalf of the Polish Underground State, the Directorate of Civil Struggle condemned the crimes against the Jewish population. At the same time, however, it was pointed out that there was no possibility of actively defending the Jewish community. Among the arguments cited were low financial resources and insufficient military facilities. The KWC also criticised the negative attitudes of Poles and incidents of Poles taking over Jewish property.
In the following weeks, discussions among various circles and texts published in underground periodicals were also followed by grassroots initiatives. Following the conclusion of the so-called Great Action (Grossaktion), on 27 September 1942, Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, together with Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz from the Polish Democratic Organisation, headed a new initiative – the Konrad Żegota Provisional Committee to Aid Jews. It is worth noting that, in documents of the time, the Committee was called the Committee for Social Aid to the Jewish Population, or the Social Committee for Aid to the Jewish Population. ‘As a result of the initiative of a number of social organisations from the Catholic and democratic circles, a Social Assistance Committee is being organised for the Jewish population affected by the bestial persecution of Jews by Germans. The Committee will endeavour, as far as possible and as far as the resources and possibilities to be reckoned with in the occupation conditions of the country’s daily life permit, to bring aid to the victims of the Nazi violence,’ stated a communiqué in the Government Delegation for Poland’s monthly Rzeczpospolita Polska of 14 October 1942.
However, the establishment of the organisation in itself did not solve many problems. The Committee brought together a relatively small group of people, mainly from two backgrounds: Catholic and democratic organisations. Despite the formalisation of cooperation, there were no active workers to provide assistance. Zofia Kossak-Szczucka herself was against organisational rigour and strict coordination, recognising rather spontaneous activity. Activities were therefore mainly concentrated in and around Warsaw, although people from various GG locations were supported. Each member had several escapees from the Ghetto under their care. Efforts were made to find them safe shelter on the Aryan side, and small amounts of money were donated for their upkeep. What was particularly important was that a new identity was created for these people – ‘Aryan papers’ were fabricated, new CVs invented, and justifications provided as to why they should remain in hiding. According to researcher Teresa Prekerowa, the ‘lack of closer contacts between those involved in the Committee’s work resulted in the dispersal of efforts, the duplication of activities, and the sacrifice of a lot of energy to achieve individual goals’.
Typically, the activities were hampered by limited financial resources. It was not until just over a month after the Committee was formed, on 31 October 1942, that a radiogram was sent to Deputy Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk in London on the matter. It emphasised: ‘On the initiative of the Delegation, the Social Committee for Aid to the Jewish Population was set up from among Polish organisations. We are asking for an allowance of half a million zlotys per month. The Delegation’s funds are insufficient. Perhaps Jewish organisations will make a contribution.’ The subsidies for this activity did not actually increase until after the Committee’s liquidation.
It is estimated that the organisation provided support to some 90 people in Warsaw and an equal number of needy outside of the capital. Nonetheless, the work carried out over the course of two months set out certain directions, allowed various methods to be tested in practice, and laid out a solid foundation for future activities.
Rescue from death
While the Committee was still in operation, discussions and meetings continued to take place regarding the establishment of a larger aid structure. Two months later, on 4 December 1942, the Provisional Committee was transformed into the Council for Aid to Jews ‘Żegota’, operating under the Government Delegation for Poland. The official name of the organisation was the Council to Aid Jews with the Government Delegation for Poland, but the abbreviated form of Council for Aid to Jews, or the codename ‘Żegota’, were used in practice. The latter had its roots in fiction, in the work Dziady (Forefathers’ Eve) (Part III) by Adam Mickiewicz. Zofia Kossak-Szczucka came up with this cryptonym when she was still setting up the Committee, combining the main character Konrad – suffering for the nation – and Żegota, one of the conspirators. Thus, the use of the word ‘Jew’ was avoided, which could have exposed the helpers.
The creation of Żegota was made possible, inter alia, owing to the efforts of Henryk Woliński of the Jewish Department of the Information and Propaganda Bureau of the Union of Armed Struggle-Home Army (Polish acronym: ZWZ-AK) Headquarters, the Polish Democratic Organisation, and the Polish Renaissance Front. The Council comprised representatives of diverse backgrounds and political parties. It also included members of Jewish organisations, both from the Jewish National Committee and the Bund. Władysław Bartoszewski, a Żegota member, wrote: ‘It was the first organisation in which Zionists, Bundists, Catholics, Polish democrats, socialists, and peasants – as well as Jews and Poles – sat together at one table and acted in conspiracy against the Germans.’ Julian Grobelny of the Polish Socialist Party was appointed chairman, with Tadeusz Rek of the People’s Party and Leon Feiner of the Bund as his deputies. The Bureau of the Council, in turn, consisted of: Marek Arczyński from the Democratic Party, Władysław Bartoszewski from the Front for Poland’s Rebirth, Emilia Hiżowa from the Polish Democratic Organisation, Adolf Berman from the Jewish National Committee, and Witold Bieńkowski – head of the Jewish office at the Government Delegation for Poland. Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, the initiator of earlier activities, did not become a member of Żegota. She delegated her trusted employee Władysław Bartoszewski to it. Subsequent presidents of Żegota included: Julian Grobelny ‘Trojan’ (Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence, Polish acronym PPS-WRN) until February 1944, Roman Jabłonowski ‘Gruszecki’ (non-attached) May–July 1944, and Leon Feiner ‘Mikołaj’ (Bund) November 1944–January 1945. The composition of the Bureau and the remaining Council structure was also subject to change.
A letter from the Government Delegate for Poland of 29 December 1942 formulated the Council’s tasks: ‘to provide assistance to the Jews as victims of the extermination operations of the occupying forces, i.e. to provide assistance aiming at saving them from death, to legalise them, to allocate them premises, to give them material benefits or, where appropriate, to find gainful employment as a basis for existence, to administer funds and distribute them – in a word, activities that may directly or indirectly fall within the scope of assistance.’ Żegota members provided false documents to Jews seeking refuge, and also financial support where possible. They organised premises for them as well as distributing food. In addition, departures were organised for those at risk of arrest; they also helped prisoners escape from labour camps. Tadeusz Rek recalled: ‘Work at the Council was passionate and simultaneously highly dangerous. On many occasions death stared us in the face.’ There was a fear of exposure by both Germans and blackmailers.
Funding for the Council’s activities came mainly from the Polish Government in London, Jewish organisations: the Bund and the Jewish National Committee, as well as foreign institutions. The funding of the Council remains one of the problematic issues, as according to researchers, not all the sums formally donated by the Government actually reached Żegota.
Due to the clandestine nature of the organisation, it is difficult to estimate how many people benefited from the support of the Council for Aid to Jews. It is estimated that, by the end of 1944, there were some 3,500 to 4,000 beneficiaries of financial assistance. In addition, its members prepared and handed over more than 45,000 false documents. The children’s department run by Irena Sendler helped the youngest victims. Historians dispute the number of children rescued by Sendlerowa and her co-workers; Anna Bikont, in her latest research, estimates it at several hundred cases. It is also likely that several escapes of prisoners from labour camps were organised, as well as an unspecified number of illegal transfers to Hungary.
Field branches of Żegota
It is worth noting that, in addition to the Warsaw headquarters, cells of the Council for Aid to Jews were also established in other cities: Krakow and Lwów. The Krakow branch of Żegota was established on 12 March 1943, i.e. one day before the final liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto. This branch was made up of: chairman Stanisław Dobrowolski of the PPS-WRN, secretary Władysław Wójcik of the PPS-WRN, treasurer Anna Dobrowolska-Michalska of the Democratic Party (SD), Tadeusz Seweryn of the People’s Party (SL), Jerzy Matus, Janusz Strzałecki and, from July 1943, Maria Hochberg ‘Mariańska’, representing Jewish circles. The Lwów Żegota branch, on the other hand, was less structured and formalised. It was established in the spring of 1943, likely in May, and headed by Władysława Laryssa Chomsowa of the Democratic Party, with Przemyslaw Ogrodzinski of the PPS-WRN as treasurer. The further composition of the Bureau is uncertain. Hitherto existing underground structures and organisations were used. Janina Wnukowa, one of those providing assistance in Lwów, recalled: ‘I was very involved in the Lwów period in the matter of helping Jews, but not on the organisational side. I had a number of people under my care, I was busy getting them out of the ghetto and arranging housing, papers and departures for Warsaw or Krakow. I think the only things that mattered in those days were my quick feet, quick decision-making and a good knowledge of German.’ Fragmentary documentation on the Lwów Żegota branch makes it difficult not only to answer many questions about the structure and the people involved, but also who was helped. Historians estimate that circa 120 people received material assistance.
A special figure in the Krakow branch of the Council was Maria Hochberg alias ‘Mariańska’, a Jewish woman staying on the Aryan side under an assumed identity. Although in danger herself, she brought help to Jews in hiding. She was first active in the structures of the PPS. As she recalled: ‘threads were going from person to person, wispy threads of help, tying themselves into nets, sometimes encompassing entire families in hiding or individuals safe on the Aryan side. The story of each such group or even a single person is a separate chapter’. After the war ‘Mariańska’ stressed that, as she had not been able to help her family, deported to the Belzec extermination camp, she became involved in the work of Żegota to support other ghetto escapees. However, considering when the Council for Aid to Jews was founded, she wrote: ‘It was late, much too late, but for those who were still alive at the time and struggling with their bitter fate, it was the final rescue, the proverbial straw clutched at by the drowning man’. After the war, she published her memoirs entitled Witnesses: Life in Occupied Krakow, in which she described her complicated fate on the Aryan side.
People working in the Krakow and Lwów branches of the Council paid particular attention to providing false documents to those in hiding and organising hiding places for them. Attempts were made to assist those who could no longer stay in their home towns in leaving. Owing to limited financial possibilities, material aid and food transfers were not carried out on a large scale.
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The agencies of the Polish Underground State and the Polish Government in Exile were not indifferent to the fate of Polish Jews. Mass deportations to extermination camps in the summer and autumn of 1942 prompted efforts to create a structure whose members could provide assistance. Holocaust researcher Dariusz Libionka notes: ‘There is no doubt that the Polish Underground State took serious measures to help the Jewish population,’ however: the ‘problem is to see these matters in the right proportions’. For the overwhelming majority, it was already too late for this. The most important initiative to help Jews – Żegota – was established in December of 1942, when the majority of Polish Jews had already been exterminated.
Author: Martyna Grądzka-Rejak – PhD, employee of the History Research Office of Institute of National Remembrance
Translation: Mikołaj Sekrecki
