Large wooden crate used by Zegota, a Polish underground group, to hide false documents

Large, lidded wooden chest used by Rada Pomocy Zydom (Council to Aid Jews), called Zegota, to hide false identity documents for Jews in German occupied Poland. Zegota was an underground organization, most active in the Warsaw region, where its members, Jewish and non-Jewish, helped Jews go into or remain in hiding. It found them hiding places and provided them with medical care, food, money, and false identity documents. About 50,000 sets of false identity documents were distributed during the German occupation, which began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Zegota was funded by the Polish government-in-exile and operated from 1942 until the liberation of Poland by Soviet forces in early 1945. Rada Pomocy Zydom (Council to Aid Jews), code name Zegota, or Konrad Zegota Committee, was an underground organization that operated in German-occupied Poland from 1942 to 1945. Zegota was founded in October 1942. It was a continuation of the Tymczasowy Komitet Pomocy Zydom (Provisional Committee to Aid Jews), which was founded in September 1942 by Catholic and democratic activists. Zegota was funded by the Polish government-in-exile through the Government Delegation for Poland in Warsaw. It was the only government-financed organization in Europe that existed solely to aid Jews. Both Jewish and non-Jewish members of the underground were active in Zegota. Several political groups were involved, including the Jewish National Committee, the General Jewish Labor Union, the Polish Socialist Party, and the Front Odrodzenia Polski. It was organized into several sections, including Legalization, Housing, Financial, Child Welfare, Medical, Clothing, and Propaganda. Zegota operated primarily in Warsaw, where it helped about 4,000 Jews who were living in hiding outside of the ghetto. Zegota found them hiding places and provided them with medical care, food, money, and false identity documents. Zegota distributed about 50,000 sets of false identity documents. The organization placed Jewish children in hiding with foster families, orphanages and churches, assisting about 2,500 children in Warsaw. They also assisted Jews in forced labor camps by providing them with money, food, and medication. The organization depended on the extensive social networks of its members to operate successfully. In cooperation with the Jewish National Committee and the Bund, a Jewish Socialist party, Zegota helped 8,500 Jews in Warsaw and 1,000 Jews outside of Warsaw. Zegota operated until the liberation of Poland by Soviet forces in early 1945. No restrictions on access