The greatest gesture

This time the protagonists of the story are 8 (plus 1): an entire Polish family, Józef and Wiktoria Ulma with their six children, plus the seventh still in his mother's lap. On March 24, 1944, they were all murdered by the Nazis: the fault, having hidden eight Jews at home for months to escape persecution by the Third Reich.

Unlike other countries, the Nazis in Poland made it clear early on that hiding or helping Jews in any way was punishable by death. But to the Ulmas, fervent Catholics, this threat did not prevent them from doing what seemed right to them: saving human lives. Nor were they the only ones: it is estimated that during the entire Nazi occupation the Poles managed to save at least 100,000 Jews. After all, the population felt as much threatened as they did, having had their lands, industries and material resources taken away by the invader. Many were deported and killed like the Jews. When the extermination camps were built in 1942, many secular and religious organizations tried to help the persecuted in every way, forging passports and hosting them in churches and monasteries.

At the end of the year, the Germans murdered most of the Jewish inhabitants of Markowa, a village in southeastern Poland. There was the Ulma farm; Józef was a well-known character throughout the village, an esteemed farmer, beekeeper and silkworm breeder, a lover of books and photography. That March 24, probably warned by a traitor, the Nazis broke into the house, shot the eight Jews and then riddled the family with bullets. Next blessed, their heroic gesture will soon be recognized throughout the world, meaning that only love does not die. Jesus promised us: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in me, even if he dies, he will live.'

Annamaria Gobbato

NP Gennaio 2023