The Holocaust, one of the darkest chapters in human history, was a period marked by immense suffering, persecution, and the loss of millions of innocent lives. Amidst the horror and cruelty, there were individuals who defied the Nazis and upheld the values of compassion and humanity at the cost of their own lives.
There are thousands of unsung heroes but one family’s heroism is being recognized. Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children will be beatified on Sunday, September 10 after being killed by the Nazis for hiding a Jewish family in their home in Poland in March of 1944. Their story serves as an enduring example of the power of love, kindness, and courage in the face of adversity.
Ordinary People
Józef Ulma was born in 1900, in Markowa, a small village in southeastern Poland. Wiktoria Gniatczyk was born in 1912, in the nearby village of Huta Brzezna. Both came from humble backgrounds and grew up in close-knit, religious families. They met in their local community during the rehearsals of the Amateur Theatre Company in Markowa, since both Wiktoria and Józef performed there. They fell in love and were married at St. Dorothy’s church in Markowa in 1935. The Ulmas settled in Markowa, where they started their family.
Markowa was a tight-knit rural community with a predominantly Catholic population. The Ulmas were devout Catholics who attended church regularly and instilled strong moral values in their six children: Stanisława (8), Barbara (7), Władysław (6), Franciszek (4), Antoni (3), and Maria (2). Józef worked as a farmer, and Wiktoria took care of their home and children. They were active members of the community. Jozef was remembered by neighbors as an amateur photographer, while Wiktoria was a promising actress in a local theater group. Despite their modest means, the Ulmas were known for their kindness and willingness to help those in need.
Father Witold Burda, the postulator for the Ulma family, says the Bible inside the Ulma house had underlined the parable of the Good Samaritan in red pen. He added that Józef and Wiktoria were known in their community for being “willing to help anyone who knocked on their door.”
Most probably, this family would had a peaceful, fairly unremarkable life except for the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939.
The Outbreak of World War II
In September 1939, World War II erupted as Germany invaded Poland, leading to the country’s occupation by Nazi forces. Life in occupied Poland became increasingly difficult, with the Nazis imposing brutal restrictions and persecuting anyone they deemed undesirable. Jewish communities, in particular, faced horrific violence and discrimination.
According to Yad Vashem, the Ulmas witnessed the execution of the Jews in their small town in the summer of 1942. The Jews were taken out of their homes, shot, and buried in a former animal burial ground. Some managed to escape and went into hiding in the surrounding area.
In the fall of 1942, while the hunt for Jews was going on in the entire area, a Jewish family from Lancut by the name of Szall and Goldman came to Markowa to find shelter. Fearing for their lives, they came to the Ulmas seeking shelter and a safe place to hide. They didn’t hesitate to help. For over a year, eight people lived with the Ulmas.
“These Jews stayed on the premises of the Ulmas and slept in the garret of the house… They never hid in particular, since all of them were busy helping to run the Ulmases’ farm,” reported Stanislaw Niemczak, a neighbor of the Ulma family. Although the Ulma house was on the outskirts, they were discovered.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
On March 24, 1944, their worst fears were realized.
Sources are very unclear who exactly denounced them to the Nazis, but it is clear that someone in the community betrayed them. In the early morning hours of March 24, 1944, the Nazis descended upon the Ulma home.
The first victims were Jews who were shot immediately. An article from Yed Vashem describes the incident further:
The rest of the execution was witnessed by the cart drivers, summoned by an order to watch the punishment to be meted to every Pole for hiding Jews. One of the cart drivers – Edward Nawojski – testified that he saw Józef and Wiktora Ulma let out of their house and shot in front of it. As he recalls: “During the execution we could hear terrible shouts, wailing, children calling out for their parents who had been already killed. All this made a shocking sight”. After having killed parents, amid crying and shouting children, functionaries started to deliberate what to do with them. After conferring it with his colleagues, Dieken decided to shoot them. Nawojski saw Kokkot killing three of four children himself. The words this Germanized Czech addressed in Polish to the drivers, left a deep imprint on his memory: “Look, how Polish swines die – who hide the Jews”. The victims were: Stasia, Basia, Władzio, Franuś, Antoś and Marysia and the seventh child in the mother’s womb, few days before birth. In several minutes seventeen people died. After killing the last child, the leader of Markowa village arrived, called by the Germans. He brought over few persons to bury the bodies. He asked the commander whom he knew from the frequent inspections of Markowa why the children were killed. Dieken gave him a cynical answer” “not to trouble the village with them”.
… Despite a rigorous ban, in a week, under the cover of the night, five men opened the Ulmas grave, laid the bodied into coffins and reburied them. One of them testified: “Placing a body of Wiktoria Ulma to a coffin, I have realized that she was pregnant. I base my statement on the fact that half of the baby’s body with head was protruding from the mother’s genitals”. In January 1945 the Ulmas bodies were transferred to the local cemetery where they rest until nowadays.
The youngest Ulma child, Maria, was just two years old at the time. The Nazis showed no mercy, even to the children.
Legacy of Courage and Compassion
In a world often marred by hatred and prejudice, the Ulma family’s sacrifice stands as a beacon of hope. Pope Francis encouraged people to learn from their example and grow in holiness through faithfulness in everyday actions.
Pope Francis approved the decree on the martyrdom of the Ulma family and their beatification will take place in Markowa on September 10, 2023. Never in recent history was an entire family beatified including an unborn child.
Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their family may have perished, but their legacy of compassion and heroism lives on. Their memory is a testament to the enduring power of love and the belief that, even in the face of the darkest of horrors, humanity can prevail.
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