"ABOUT ŻEGOTA. A REPORT KEPT SECRET FOR HALF A CENTURY" – NEW BOOK BY PROF. BARTOSZEWSKI
About Żegota. A Report Kept Secret For Half A Centuryby Władysław Bartoszewski is a new book published under the auspices of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
It was prepared by the PWN Publishing House to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the creation of Żegota and will be officially released on 23 January.
The Council to Aid Jews was created on 4 December 1942 under the Government Delegation for Poland in Warsaw. Its members were representatives of Polish and Jewish organisations from diverse political and social fields. What connected them was the will to help those members of the society who were persecuted and murdered because of their nationality and creed – Jews. They were able to overcome their different opinions and backgrounds and unite for the common goal, even though they ran an enormous risk – at the time, any form of showing solidarity with the Jews was punishable by death.
The name of the Council – “Żegota” – was a reference to the poetic drama Dziady. Part III by Adam Mickiewicz, where the name belonged to a student imprisoned in a Basilian monastery. The idea to use the word came from Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, one of the founders of “Żegota.”
After the war Władysław Bartoszewski, an underground activist and one of the most active members of “Żegota” from the moment of its creation, decided to document all of the organisation's activities.
In 1963, during his stay in Jerusalem, Bartoszewski was asked by the Yad Vashem Institute to provide a thorough report on the activities undertaken by “Żegota”, on its structure and on people that were part of it. The invaluable importance of Bartoszewski's report is that he himself was the witness and participant of the events that he recounts. As a safety measure, the report was written down and hidden, but it will be published on the 70th anniversary of the creation of “Żegota,” which will serve as remainder of the past for the generations to be.
The report, published by the PWN Publishing House, will be titled About Żegota. A Report Kept Secret For Half A Centuryand will feature a preface by the author, detailed footnotes and biographical information about the members of “Żygota” and its most important associates. It will be available to buy in libraries from 23 January 2013.
The value of this extraordinary document, which for many years was completely unavailable, cannot be overestimated, especially for historians and researchers in the field.
Title: About Żegota. A Report Kept Secret For Half A Century
Author: Władysław Bartoszewski
Format: B5 (165x238 mm)
No. of pages: 224
Cover: hardback
Price: 49,90 zł
Premiere: 23 stycznia 2013
Media patronage:
Honorary patronage:
Museum of the History of Polish Jews
