The display entitled Death for Humanity. The Ulma Family was presented by Grażyna Ignaczak-Bandych, Head of the Chancellery of the President of Poland, in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. She stressed that the Ulma family is a symbol of Christianity, humanity and love, but it also proves the openness to the world. The event was attended by IPN’s Deputy President Mateusz Szpytma, Ph.D.
The exhibition, prepared by the IPN Branch in Rzeszow, presents the fate of a family whose life was subjected to the regimes of war and German occupation. Józef and Wiktoria Ulma did not passively submit to the course of history. They became its active participants by helping other people in need. They stood on the side of goodness and shared that goodness with others.
We remember the heroism of people who paid the highest price for they wanted to preserve their humanity against the totalitarian violence of the invaders (…) During the occupation, German authorities threatened death for acts that were ordinary in free Poland: providing shelter, extending hospitality, sharing bread. Basic human reactions were deemed crimes by the German Nazi regime. Simple acts of humanity in Ulma family became acts of courage and were met with brutal consequences. The instinct of humanity in Ulma family was punished with the death of the entire family and all those they harbored: the Jewish families of Markowski, Łańcucki – Goldman, Didner, and Grünfeld,
said during the opening ceremony the IPN's Deputy President Mateusz Szpytma Ph.D., co-author of the exhibition.
The exhibition, prepared in Polish and English, features dozens of photos and documents. Some of them have been published for the first time. The exhibition will be on display until 7 September at 46/48 Krakowskie Przemieście Street).