The Ulma Family

d. 1944: Feast Day: July 7

On September 10, 2023, exactly 88 years after their wedding day, Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma, along with all seven of their children, were declared Blessed. This was the first time that an entire family had been beatified. However, in many ways, the Ulmas were ordinary. It was their heroic decision to love that made them holy. Because of this, the Ulma family inspires us to practice hospitality and always choose to love others, no matter the risk. 

Both Jozef and Wiktoria were born and raised in the same small Polish village. Jozef was fascinated by agricultural technology and photography, and Wiktoria enjoyed acting. The village parish, St. Dorothy’s, was the center of their lives. It was there that they received their sacraments, participated in youth events, and were eventually married in 1935. Following their wedding, the young couple happily welcomed children, one after another. 

Jozef worked hard to support his growing family. He was an avid reader and loved learning. He started the first fruit tree nursery in the village and kept bees and silkworms. In his spare time, he enjoyed tinkering with machines and built a household wind turbine that brought electricity to their home. It was Jozef’s passion for photography, however, that best captured the beautiful, ordinary life of the Ulma family. Pictures of the Ulmas show a happy family hanging clothes out to dry, reading, or doing chores. 

Faith was the foundation of life for the Ulma family. They were dedicated members of their parish church and prayed daily as a family. The godmother of the Ulmas’ third child later recalled what she witnessed when she stayed a week with the family. With Wiktoria recovering from childbirth, each night Jozef gathered his children around her bed. Holding their mother’s hands, the family knelt and prayed the Rosary together. 

Unfortunately, the Ulmas lived during a troubled time. Shortly after their marriage, World War II broke out in Europe. In 1939, Poland was occupied by German Nazis who persecuted the Jewish people. The Ulmas’ small village had only 4,500 residents, of which 120 were Jewish. The Ulmas were friendly with these Jewish families. In 1942, when the Germans began the mass execution of Jews in death camps, eight Jews knocked on the Ulmas’ door. At first, Jozef helped by building a dugout outside of the village where the families could hide. However, when the Germans patrolled these areas, he agreed to hide them in his attic. 

Hiding a Jew was a capital offense. Jozef and Wiktoria knew this, but they took in the Jewish families anyway. Observing how much food Jozef was buying, other villagers became suspicious, and in the early hours of March 24, 1944, German officers broke into the Ulma home. Racing up to the attic, they killed all eight of the men, women, and children hiding there. Then, the German officers dragged the Ulma family from their home. The officers shouted for villagers to come and watch so they might see the consequences of harboring Jews. With a crowd of their neighbors and friends watching, an officer killed Jozef and then Wiktoria, who was 8 months pregnant. The Ulma’s six children screamed and clung to their parents’ dead bodies. Annoyed, the German officer quickly killed the children as well and ordered that the villagers dig a pit to dispose of the bodies.

Remarkably, the public execution of the Ulma family did not have the effect the German officers intended it to. Twenty-one other Jews were hidden in the homes of that small village, and all of them saw the liberation of the village by Allied Forces three months later. Those families, all fellow parishioners at St. Dorothy’s, followed the example of the Ulmas and continued to risk their lives for those who were in need.

The life and death ofJozef and Wiktoria Ulma and their family demonstrate that the choices we make as leaders of our families have a deep impact on the sanctity of our children. At the time of her death, the oldest Ulma child, Stanisława, was eight years old and preparing for her First Holy Communion. She did not choose to welcome eight Jews into her home, and yet she, and all of her siblings, are holy because of the actions of her parents, and their short lives have impacted many. 

Christian families, follow the example of the Ulmas and open your hearts to all those in need. Offer food, shelter, friendship, and counsel wherever it is needed, aware that Christ is truly present in the distressing disguise of the poor. 

Bls. Jozef, Wiktoria, Stanisława, Barbara, Władysław, Franciszek, Antoni, Maria, and your unborn child, pray for us!