March 24 marked a special memorial day in the country dedicated to Poles who risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbours from the Holocaust.
On March 24, 1944, German military police killed members of the Polish family of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, who were sheltering Jews in the village of Markowa in the southeast of the country.
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Sunday honoured the victims during a remembrance event at the Ulma Family Museum in Markowa.
He said at the ceremony that the memorial day aims to honour the memory of all Poles who helped Jews during the Holocaust and who often died for doing so.
Duda told the gathering that helping Jews was punishable by death in German-occupied Poland during World War II. Nevertheless, many people went to great lengths to assist their Jewish neighbours despite the risks involved, he said.
"There were often entire networks of people whose efforts were focused on saving even one person," Duda added.
Plaques on the wall of the Ulma Family Museum, at Markowa in the southeast of Poland, commemorating those who risked their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust during World War II. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz
Poland’s Roman Catholic Church last year beatified the Polish Ulma family, who lost their lives for hiding Jews during WWII.
In the Catholic Church, beatification is one stage short of being declared a saint.
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Source: IAR, PAP