“Save Anyone You Can, Betray No One” – an exhibition about Izabella Radziwiłł

Redakcja, 20 September 2024

The Museum in Nieborów and Arkadia – a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw, with the support of the Trzy Trąby Foundation, has created a temporary exhibition entitled “Save Anyone You Can, Betray No One”. This exhibition presents the underground activities of Izabella Radziwiłł (1914–1996) and her family, in particular the story of helping Jews in the Radziwiłł Palace in Nieborów. In 1992, in recognition of this activity, Duchess Izabella was honoured with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. Learn about the exhibition and visit the Museum in Nieborów. Read Izabella Radziwiłł’s story on this portal and view the unique photographs from the POLIN Museum’s digital collection.

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“Children escaping from the ghetto, but also people who were employed under assumed names, found shelter on estates. The exhibition, presented in the Nieborów palace, is devoted to the underground activities of the Radziwiłł family during the German occupation. The exhibition pays tribute to their heroism and is, also, a celebration of the memory of many Nieborów residents, most of them anonymous, whose involvement in saving Jews was a display of the highest heroism”, the Curator’s text in the exhibition opening.

The Museum in Nieborów and Arkadia was established in 1945. It includes the Radziwiłł Palace and its garden in Nieborów and the Romantic Garden in Arkadia. Until the end of January 1945, the pace and garden were located on the Nieborów-Mysłaków estate of Janusz Radziwiłł, the Ołycki landowner. In February 1945, the NKVD deported the Radziwiłłów family to the Soviet Union. The then director of the National Museum in Warsaw, Stanisław Lorentz, in accordance with an earlier agreement with Radziwiłł, took care of the unique Nieborów palace, with its collections and historic garden, including them as a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw.

From September 2023, the Nieborów Museum has presented an exhibition dedicated to the daughter of Janusz Radziwiłł, Izabella Radziwiłł, wife of Edmund, mother of Ferdynand and Krystyna Radziwiłł-Milewska.

During the years of German occupation, Duchess Izabella, with the support of her family, extended help to Jews. Thanks to the cooperation of Sister Matylda Getter, mother superior of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary, and also Father Stefan Niedzielak from the Main Welfare Council, the residence in Nieborów, in 1942–1944, became a hiding place for Jewish children. The Radzwiłłów family also extended help to refugees from the Warsaw Uprising, among them Jerzy Einhorn, Tadeusz Nusbaum-Hilarowicz, with his wife and daughter, as well as Kazimierz Żorawski. On 1st September 1992, in recognition of the help provided, the Yad Vashem Institute honoured Izabella Radziwiłł with the title of Righteous Among the Nations.

Thanks to the exhibition curator and the curator of the Museum in Nieborów, Monika Antczak, we also present Izabella Radziwiłł’s story of this portal. Her story of aid was prepared by Dr Marta Janczewska, the text being illustrated with photographs from the family archive of Krystyna Radziwiłł-Milewska, Izabella’s daughter. It is worth noting that some of these photographs show children staying in Nieborów during the German occupation.

Read: Izabella Radziwiłł’s Story →

The exhibition, “Save Anyone You Can, Betray No One” – the story of the underground activities of Izabella Radziwiłł During the Period of Occupation, can be viewed at the Museum in Nieborów and Arkadia, which is located in the Łowicz District (99-416 Nieborów). The exhibition will be on show until 30th November 2024.

In the gallery of photographs above, courtesy of the organisers, we present photographs of the exhibition (designed by Elżbieta Bogaczewicz-Biernacka). We encourage everyone to visit the exhibition.