Żegota

The Council was founded in Warsaw on 4 December 1942, growing out of the Provisional Committee to Aid Jews, set up in September 1942 on the initiative of Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz. The code name Żegota came from the committee's name. Its members represented Polish political parties and Jewish organisations; it was chaired in turn by Julian Grobelny, Roman Jabłonowski and Leon Feiner of the Bund. It was the only organisation in occupied Europe aiding Jews that was funded by a government in exile, with money passed on by the Government Delegation.

The Council supplied forged documents, numbering in the tens of thousands, found flats and hiding places, paid allowances and arranged medical help. Its children's section in Warsaw was led by Irena Sendler. Branches operated in Kraków and Lwów, among other places. The scale of its aid cannot be established precisely; several thousand people are thought to have been in its regular care. After the war Yad Vashem honoured the organisation and many of its members.