The "Felicja" Cell
"Felicja" was the codename of one of the cells of the Council to Aid Jews "Żegota". Its founder, Maurycy Herling-Grudziński (brother of writer Gustaw) named his private initiative after his wife. The Jewish lawyer was active outside the ghetto. From the moment he joined the Council's structure, he organised help at his own initiative. He helped with escapes to the "Aryan side", provided shelter on his own property in Boernerowo near Warsaw (today part of the Bemowo district) and searched for other hiding places. One-fifth of the Jews in hiding in Warsaw remained under the care of "Felicja".
Thanks to Herling-Grudziński, documentation has been preserved which contain 494 names of people under the care of "Felicja", together with the amounts they received monthly from liaison personnel from December 1943 to March 1944. Ignoring the order to destroy those receipts, he buried them in his garden.
Years later, Maria Hochberg-Mariańska, a worker with the Kraków branch of the Council, explained the principles relating to the receipts:
"At one of our meetings, in order to maintain safety, we decided that every amount paid to Jews, both on the receipts and on the lists, would be written in units of ten instead of a thousand, and the date would be back-dated by ten years. It was quite a naive bit of camouflage, especially as how not all the liaison personnel and those under care used it - as can be seen from the receipts".
The "Felicja" archive, now part of the Ossolineum - 187 slips of paper, receipts for receiving money – today represent extraordinary evidence of the financial support provided by "Żegota". From 4th December 2017, selected receipts will feature in POLIN Museum's core exhibition.
Karolina Dzięciołowska, December 2017 / English Translation: Andrew Rajcher
We present the stories of Council members, its structure, its activity methods,
memorials in Poland and in Israel, as well as memorabilia from POLIN Museum collection.
Marek Arczyński, Wiesław Balcerak, Kryptonim „Żegota”. Z dziejów pomocy Żydom w Polsce 1939-1945, Warszawa 1979.
Anna Bikont, Sendlerowa. W ukryciu, Warszawa 2017.
Teresa Prekerowa, Konspiracyjna Rada Pomocy Żydom w Warszawie 1942-1945, Warszawa 1982.
Gunnar S. Paulsson, Utajone miasto. Żydzi po aryjskiej stronie Warszawy (1940-1945), Kraków 2007.
Ten jest z ojczyzny mojej. Polacy z pomocą Żydom 1939-1945, oprac. W. Bartoszewski, Z. Lewinówna, Warszawa 2007.
„Żegota”. Rada Pomocy Żydom 1942-1945. Wybór dokumentów, oprac. A. K. Kunert, Warszawa 2002.
„Żegota. Dokumenty 1942-1945”, oprac. M. Olczak, Warszawa 2017.