Getter Matylda

Getter, Matylda (Mother Matylda) Matylda Getter (Mother Matylda) was head of the Franciscan order “Mary’s Family” (Zgromadzenie Siostr Rodziny Marii), in the Warsaw district. In her capacity as Mother Superior, Matylda ran a number of children’s homes and orphanages in the locality, where she hid many Jewish children during the occupation. In 1942-1943, Mother Matylda contacted the workers of “Centos,” an organization which arranged care for orphans and abandoned Jewish children in the Warsaw ghetto. Many of these children, after being smuggled out of the ghetto, were sent directly to Matylda’s institutions. Although we do not know exactly how many Jewish children were saved by the institutions of “Mary’s Family,” we do know that about 40 Jewish girls – including Wanda Rozenbaum, Margaret Frydman, and Hanna Zajtman – found refuge in the Pludy branch alone. All 40 survived. Mother Matylda was fond of saying that it was her duty to save those in trouble. Spurred on by her religious faith, she never demanded payment for her services, although some parents, and a few relatives, paid for their children’s upkeep. Despite the fact that most of the Jewish children were baptized while in the institutions, they all reverted to Judaism after the liberation. On January 17, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Matylda Getter as Righteous Among the Nations.