The Ulma Family
I would like to tell you a story…. And please bear with me, because I know this is a rather strange story (to tell on a photography page, but I promise that it’s related).
Victoria and Josef Ulma were farmers living in Poland, during the WWII era. Together, with their seven children, they lived on a farm in their two- room house in Markowa, Poland. Jozef often lent out books to his friends, bred silkworms, and taught others how to grow exotic plants. Victoria and Jozef farmed their land and spent much time together, doting on their young children.
But what was commonly less known, was that Jozef and Victoria helped Jewish families hide, and escape certain death from the Nazi occupation going on at that time.
All was well, until a neighbor reported that the Ulma family was sheltering Jews. The Nazis surrounded the house, killed a pregnant Victoria, Josef, the remaining six children, and the Jewish family that was currently being sheltered by the Ulmas.
As a result of being devout Christians/Catholics, and for the bravery the Ulma family showed by sheltering several families that would have been killed if found (which some later were), the Ulma family is beatified (on their way to being declared saints) by the Catholic Church. Today, July 7th, is to be known as the feast day of the Ulma family in the Catholic Church in Poland, which was the anniversary of Josef and Victoria's wedding in 1935.
How do we know so much about the Ulma family? Josef was a photographer. After the execution of the Ulma family, photographs that Jozef had taken were found. The pictures were of his wife, children, their farm, and some of the Jewish families that were sheltered by Josef and his wife. Perhaps Josef knew that those photographs would be one of the few remaining records that would show the lives of the people he sheltered. One has to admire the ingenuity Josef had, he created his camera himself, and was self-taught when it came to developing and creating photos.
I think it fitting that a man who was focused on saving humanity, whether through sheltering persecuted people, or preserving their memories in photos, is remembered still today because he tried so hard to see the dignity of the human person. I also think that it says something, that we remember his photography for images that are not of dramatic political events, high-paced sports, or the rich and famous, but for photos of his farm, his faith, and his family. And I think that is beautiful.
You can find more about the Ulma family, and see some of Josef Ulma’s work here:
https://www.oursundayvisitor.com/they-lived-together-like-family-the-ulmas-and-the-jews-they-hid/
https://aleteia.org/2026/07/07/what-jozef-and-wiktoria-ulma-had-in-common-with-john-paul-ii/