Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport was officially named after the Ulma family – Poles who hid eight Jews on their farm, for which they were murdered by the Germans on 24 March 1944. On the anniversary of this crime, the National Day of Remembrance of Poles who rescued Jews under German occupation is celebrated. The ceremonies were attended by President Andrzej Duda.

“Thank you for deciding to name the airport after this very family. It is a great distinctive feature of the airport; it is a window to the world, it is a place where people come here – in recent times, indeed, from all over the world. Since the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the airport in Jasionka has become a centre of support for Ukraine in every possible way: including military, humanitarian and political support, because it is here that politicians from all over the world arrive, who then continue their journey towards Kyiv”, said the President, adding that this initiative will allow this extremely important story about Poles to spread around the world.

The Ulma family hid eight Jews on their farm, for which they were all murdered by the Germans on 24 March 1944. First the Jews in hiding were killed, and then Jozef, Wiktoria and the seven Ulma children (the delivery of the youngest began at the time of the execution).

Also, on Sunday in Markowa, at the Memorial Orchard in front of the monument commemorating the death of the Ulma family, the President laid a wreath. “Despite the fact that in Poland helping Jews was punishable by death, as it was nowhere else in Western Europe, there were about a million Poles who helped their fellows, their Jewish neighbours”, said Andrzej Duda.

In 1995, for their actions, the Ulma family was honoured with the title “Righteous Among the Nations”. In 2022 Pope Francis confirmed the decree on the martyrdom of the venerable Servants of God, thus enabling their beatification, which took place on 10 September 2023 in Markowa. This was the first time in history that an entire family was exalted to the glory of the altars.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński