The story of the Ulma family, martyrs who helped Jews during World War II, is an example of the heroic bravery of an ordinary family - people who "defended life at the cost of life." On September 10, an unprecedented beatification for the universal Church will take place in Markowa - the beatification of an entire family of martyrs - a married couple and seven children, including one still in the womb of their pregnant mother.
The Ulmas were an ordinary, undistinguished family. They lived in southeastern Poland. Until 1944 the life of Jozef and Wiktoria went on as most Polish families do - they worked on the land, raised six children and waited for the birth of the seventh. Before it could be born, however, the Nazis murdered their entire family, as well as the Jews to whom the Ulmas had given shelter.
Jozef and Wiktoria
Born on March 2, 1900, Jozef Ulma was passionate about agriculture - he innovated in both fruit and vegetable farming, as well as in silkworm breeding and beekeeping. He enjoyed photography and built his first camera himself. His wife Wiktoria née Niemczak was born on December 10, 1912. She attended folk school for several years, and then took folk university courses. She enjoyed drawing, and before her marriage performed in an amateur parish theatre.
The couple married on July 7, 1935. Jozef worked on the farm, in the dairy and was involved in social activities, while Wiktoria took care of the house and the large family. The Ulmas' first daughter, Stasia, was born on July 18, 1936. Every year, more children were born: Basia (October 6, 1937), Władzio (December 5, 1938), Franio (April 3, 1940), Antoś (June 6, 1941) and finally Marysia (September 16, 1942) - when she was murdered, she was only a year and a half old.
A decision dictated by Christian love
In German-occupied Polish territory, hiding Jews was forbidden, and the penalty for doing so was death. The Ulmas were certainly aware of this, nevertheless, risking their own lives and those of their children, they decided to give shelter to their persecuted neighbours. It was a choice dictated by love. In the Bible found in their home, the title of the parable of the Good Samaritan was underlined in red, with "yes" written in the margin. This one word shows their willingness to sacrifice their lives for others.
The Ulmas hid eight Jews in their home for a year and a half - Saul Goldman and his four sons, Baruch, Mechel, Joachim and Moses, as well as two sisters, Golda Grünfeld and Lea Dydner with their daughter Reszla.
The tragic night
On the night of March 23-24, 1944, a group of soldiers, led by Eilert Dieken, forced their way into the Ulmas' home. Three of the hiding Jews were killed in the attic, where they slept. The others were shot in the back of the head a moment later. Jozef and Wiktoria were killed in front of their house. Dieken gave the order to kill all the children as well. The toddlers were killed by several rifle shots. In just a few minutes, 17 people were deprived of their lives, including the baby that Wiktoria was carrying under her heart and who was going into labour at the time of the execution. No one could escape with their lives. Not even the children.
Beatification without precedent
Beatifications and canonizations of families have already happened in the history of the Church. - In the case of the Ulma family, we are talking about martyrs. In ancient times there were such or similar cases and they are listed in the "Martyrology." However, in our time this is a completely new fact," stressed Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Canonization.
In contrast, the recognition of the martyrdom of an unborn child is without precedent:
- The beatification of the Ulms' seventh child, who was yet to be born, is certainly the most original and important element. This is a child not yet named, whose gender we also know nothing about. [...] For the Church, however, it is a person and is sacred. It is a soul who sees the face of God and who represents in the heavenly Church the countless children who have died before birth from natural causes or from abortion - stressed Father François-Marie Lethel, consultant to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
*The article is based on a book about the fate of the Ulma family by Italian journalist Manuela Tulli and the director of the Polish section of Vatican News, Fr. Pawel Rytel-Andrianik. The publication in Polish, Italian (Uccisero anche I bambini. Gli Ulma, la famiglia martire che aiutò gli ebrei) and English (Martyred and Blessed Together. The Extraordinary Story of the Ulma Family) will be released thanks to the Abraham J. Heschel Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations of the Catholic University of Lublin for the beatification ceremony of the Ulma family - September 10, 2023. The Polish version will be available free of charge at – www.heschel.kul.pl.