I vescovi polacchi e la salvaguardia degli ebrei

Abstract

The German Nazis planned to annihilate the Jewish nation. The Holocaust reached immense proportions on Polish lands, which had been the dwelling place for thousands of Jews for ages. Therefore, the Germans located several death camps on the territory of the occupied Poland. The Poles did not remain passive towards the persecution of the members of the Chosen People living next to them, with many priests and men and women religious committing themselves to rescuing Jews. This issue has not yet been fully explored. The article presents the attitudes of the Polish Catholic Bishops providing aid to Jews during the Second World War. They became involved in the following actions: they issued petitions in defence of Jews and informed pope Pius XII about the persecution of Jews, intervened with the occupation authorities and defended converts, they were personally involved in assisting and saving the lives of the members of the Jewish community, as well as supported clergymen and organizations helping Jews.