The residents of Markowa, a village where, on 24 March 1944, the Germans executed the Ulma family for hiding Jews, were the first to watch Mariusz Pilis' latest documentary. The Institute of National Remembrance is a content partner of the film.
The screening of this unique documentary „Historia jednej zbrodni”[the Story of One Crime] took place on 6 June 2023 at the Parish House in Markowa. The preview screening was attended by residents of the village where Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, who were murdered along with their children for helping Jews during World War II, came from. The premiere of the film will take place on Friday, 9 June 2023. "The Story of One Crime" will probably also be shown on Polish Television, prior to the beatification of the Ulma family, scheduled for 10 September this year.
The screening was accompanied by a discussion with Joanna Lubecka Ph.D.,(IPN Branch in Cracow/ Ignatianum Academy in Cracow) and director Mariusz Pilis, moderated by Marcin Chorązki Ph.D.,(IPN Branch in Cracow/ Chief Historian of the Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II).
The screening of the film inspired a discussion on the history of the prosecution and punishment of German criminals after World War II. It is worth emphasizing that Joanna Lubecka Ph.D., a participant of the discussion, is an expert on the history of World War II who deals with the issue of settling German crimes.
The 76- minute-long documentary not only presents the circumstances of the crime in Markowa, but also its perpetrators and their postwar fate.
The Institute of National Remembrance is the substantive partner of the film. Materials deposited in the Branch Archive of the IPN in Cracow have been used in the production . In addition, the film featured Mateusz Szpytma Ph.D., the Deputy President of the Institute, and Maciej Korkuć Ph.D., the Head of the Cracow Branch Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom.
The event was organized by the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II.
The new film by excellent documentary filmmaker Mariusz Pilis tells the heartbreaking story of the Ulma family: Józef and Wiktoria and their seven children, who sacrificed their lives in an attempt to save two Jewish families, the Goldmans and the Shalls. The unimaginable crime that the Germans committed on 24 March 1944 - murdering the Ulma family, including their children - became the starting point for the director's investigation of the case. Its results are shocking.
Mariusz Pilis managed to locate previously unpublished materials, he conducted a series of interviews, and followed the post-war trail of those responsible for the murder. Thanks to this, the viewer discovers the horrifying truth that the perpetrators of this cruel crime were, in fact, never punished for it. The gendarme who passed sentence on the Ulma family and carried out their execution had enjoyed respect and recognition in Germany for years.
"The Story of One Crime" is not only a brilliantly produced, grasping documentary but also a film with a mission. It portrays fragments of the Ulma family's history, which no one has previously researched.