Markowa [marˈkɔva] is a village in Łańcut County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Markowa. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 miles) south-east of Łańcut and 22 kilometres (14 miles) east of the regional capital Rzeszów.[1]

Markowa
Village
Church of Saint Dorothy in Markowa
Markowa is located in Poland
Markowa
Markowa
Coordinates: 50°1′13″N 22°18′1″E / 50.02028°N 22.30028°E / 50.02028; 22.30028
Country Poland
VoivodeshipSubcarpathian
CountyŁańcut
GminaMarkowa
Population
4,100
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationRLA
Catholic dioceseArchdiocese of Przemyśl
Feast day6 February (Feast of Saint Dorothy)
7 July (Feast of Blesseds Ulma Family)
Patron saints

History

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The village was founded in the 14th century by the Polish noble family of Pilecki, and was settled by the descendants of German colonists, who called it Markhof. The Pileckis also founded a Catholic parish in the village.

 
Grave monument of Ulma family executed in 1944

During World War II it was under German occupation.

On 24 March 1944 a patrol of German police came to the house of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, where they found eight Jewish members of the Szall and Goldman families. At first the Germans executed all the Jews. Then they shot the pregnant Wiktoria and her husband. When the six children began to scream at the sight of their parents' bodies, Joseph Kokott, a German police officer (Volksdeutsche from Koblov in Hlučín Region), shot them after consulting with his superior. The other killers were Eilert Dieken, Michael Dziewulski and Erich Wilde. Afterwards the Germans robbed the house and workshop of the Ulma family and organized an alcoholic libation.[2] On the 60th anniversary of this tragedy, a memorial[3] was erected in memory of the family. The family was beatified by the Catholic Church, with the ceremony taking place in Markowa on 10 September 2023 by papal delegate Cardinal Marcello Semeraro.[4] Other Polish families also hid Jews in Markowa, and at least 17 Jews survived the German occupation and the Holocaust in five Polish homes.[2]

The Markowa Ulma-Family Museum of Poles Who Saved Jews in World War II is located in the village.[5]

However, memory of the tragedy in Markowa has been politically used to support a view that can be summed up as follows: Since Poles saved Jews, it cannot be that Poles murdered Jews or handed them over to the Germans. Memory of the tragedy is used to portray wartime Poland as a "Republic of the Just" of a heroic people.[6]

See also

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The Skansen of Markowa. The typical Umgebindehaus - houses, about 150–200 km (93–124 mi) southeast of Kraków, around 18/19th century, built in the style of ancient mountain Walddeutsche atmosphere.

References

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  1. ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01.
  2. ^ a b Alfred Kyc. "67. rocznica zamordowania Ulmów i ukrywanych przez nich Żydów". Nauka w Polsce (in Polish). Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Riesenbach Survival Story - Joe Riesenbach". www.riesenbach.com.
  4. ^ "https://standard.sk/434995/po-prvy-raz-blahorecili-celu-rodinu-ulmovcov-z-polska-zavrazdenych-nacistami" [An entire family beatified for the first time - Ulmas from were killed by the Nazis]. www.standard.sk (in Slovak). 10 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  5. ^ "Markowa: Około 50 tys. turystów odwiedziło Muzeum Polaków Ratujących Żydów - Wydarzenia lokalne". www.portalsamorzadowy.pl. 20 March 2017.
  6. ^ Marta Bucholc (2018). "Anachronistische Wahrnehmungen. Zur Rolle der Erinnerung in der polnischen Politik - Essay". Aus Politik und Zeitgeschehen (in German). Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.
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  Media related to Markowa at Wikimedia Commons