Jozef (right) and Wiktoria Ulma, a Polish couple from Markowa village (Photo/Shanghai Daily)
During World War II, Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma, a married couple from the Polish village of Markowa, harbored eight Polish Jews in their home against Nazi persecution.
They were subsequently caught in 1944 and summarily executed for their actions along with their six children. After the war, the entire family was posthumously honored for their actions.
For one month, their story will be brought to Shanghai as part of a collective exhibition titled "The Good Samaritans from Markowa," hosted by the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. The exhibition is held at the White Horse Inn, one of the most popular social venues of Jewish refugees in Shanghai during World War II.
The exhibition offers a glimpse at the lives of the family, including photographs of the Ulmas, letters written by Josef Ulma, and landmarks in Poland that were of significance to the family.
"Since the establishment of the museum in 2007, we have been committed to telling the stories of European Jews in World War II," Chen Jian, curator of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, said at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
"It is of great significance to open such an exhibition here as it demonstrates the selflessness of the Polish people, much like how the people in Shanghai were when we opened our doors to 2,000 Polish Jewish refugees during World War II," he added.
Shanghai was home to about 18,000 European Jewish refugees during that time.
The refugees were required by the occupying Japanese army in Shanghai to reside in the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees — a 1.6-square-kilometer area in today's Hongkou District.
The city was often referred to as Noah's Ark of the Orient for being a safe haven for Jewish refugees from the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.
Date: Through May 15, 9am-5pm
Venue: Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
Address: 62 Changyang Rd
