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23.03.2021

Poles Rescuing Jews under German Occupation. The Story of Matylda Getter

Matylda Getter (1870-1968), superior of the Warsaw Province of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, together with the sisters, saved several hundred Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto and other places in German-occupied Poland. In the provincial house at 53 Hoża Street in Warsaw and in over 60 monasteries and care facilities belonging to the congregation, they received shelter, care and food as well as new documents.

 

 

 

During World War II, sister Matylda Getter declared to accept every child from the Warsaw Ghetto. "Whoever comes to our yard and asks for help, in the name of Christ, we must not refuse," said Sister Matylda. The entire congregation and hundreds of other people were involved in saving Jewish children, despite the threat of the death penalty. In recognition of her work, Mother Matylda Getter was awarded the “Righteous Among the Nations" medal by the Yad Vashem Institute.

In 2019 in Warsaw at 53 Hoża Street, a plaque was unveiled in tribute to Mother Matylda Getter, the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary and all people of good will who, risking their own lives, saved Jewish children doomed by the German occupiers. The inscription on the board can be read in three languages: Polish, English and Hebrew. The commemoration was financed by the IPN’s Office of Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom.

 


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