Zegota

   The code name of the Rada Pomocy Zydom (Council for Aid to the Jews). The Polish underground organization functioned from December 1942 until the liberation of Poland in January 1945. The Zegota consisted of five Polish and two Jewish political groups, and engaged in many operations against the Germans in behalf of the Jews. Included among its activities was to provide “Aryan” documents for Jews under its protection and the forging of false baptismal, marriage, and death certificates. It also provided identity employment cards for Jews. Although hiding Jews was punishable by death, the Zegota was constantly finding shelter for Jews. It also sheltered Jewish children by placing them with foster families and public orphanages as well as convents. In Warsaw, more than 2,500 children were saved through the efforts of the underground organization. The Zegota was the only anti-German organization in Poland that was led by Jews and nonJews. Politically, it petitioned the Polish government in-exile to urge the Polish population to help persecuted Jews and published leaflets that detailed the fate of the Jews under the Germans.

   The Zegota also protested the activities of anti-Semitic elements within the Polish underground. At the height of its operations in the summer of 1944, it was providing financial and other assistance to about 4,000 Jews, mostly around Warsaw.

   See also Sendler, Irena.