“Exactly 2,345 religious sisters from various congregations were engaged in aiding the Jewish population,” said Sister Monika Kupczewska of the Congregation of the Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. “We can draw a map of rescue efforts, densely dotted with convents that provided aid,” she added. “The largest number, 56 communities, belonged to the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary. However, many other congregations were also involved in this assistance.”

The religious sisters who saved Jews acted primarily out of love for God and their fellow human beings. “These sisters said that this was their only motivation. No one forced them to provide help,” emphasized Sister Kupczewska. Many of the sisters involved in rescuing Jews did not consider their actions to be extraordinary. “I looked at these sisters, who modestly said: ‘We did nothing exceptional. We could not help but save these children when faced with the cruelty of World War II,'” recalled Sister Kupczewska, who is an assistant professor at the Center for Research on the Historical Geography of the Church in Poland at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin.

Research conducted by the Historical Commission has enabled the creation of a detailed map of rescue efforts, marking the convents and institutions involved in saving Jews. Among the congregations engaged in these efforts were the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, the Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Albertine Sisters, the Daughters of Charity, the Felician Sisters, the Ursuline Sisters, and many others. “There was no religious congregation in Poland that did not, in some way, encounter the issue of aiding hidden Jews during the occupation,” Sister Kupczewska quoted the words of Władysław Bartoszewski, a historian and activist, Auschwitz survivor.

An Example of Heroism: Przemyśl

One example of the sisters’ heroic efforts is the story of the Sacred Heart Sisters in Przemyśl. “In our case, it was an orphanage where the sisters saved thirteen Jewish children,” said Sister Kupczewska.

“Sometimes parents came and asked for help, sometimes children were left at convent doors, and sometimes older children escaped from the ghetto,” she added. The sisters not only provided shelter but also changed the children’s identities to protect them from German persecution. “They saved the children by changing their names, forging new documents, and even disguising them in religious habits,” said Sister Kupczewska.

The Price of Heroism

Unfortunately, not all rescue efforts were successful. Among those who paid the highest price—the price of their own lives—for aiding Jews were twelve religious sisters. Four of them have been beatified by the Catholic Church as martyrs.

First English-Language Monograph on Clergy Assistance in Poland

The Abraham J. Heschel Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations at the Catholic University of Lublin published the first English-language monograph examining the assistance provided to Jews during the Holocaust by Polish clergy as part of their documentation work. The two-volume work, titled Wartime Rescue of Jews by the Polish Catholic Clergy, was written by attorney Ryszard Tyndorf and published by KUL Press. It is available for free online at https://tiny.pl/s8xxn5vc.

The book, spanning over 1,200 pages, primarily contains testimonies of Jews rescued by religious sisters and priests in Poland during the Holocaust. It includes an index listing thousands of towns and the names of both survivors and rescuers.