Career
She was a graduate of the University of Krakow who had entered the monastery after her studies. During World World War II, under her leadership, the nuns of the monastery sheltered 17 young Jewish activists from Nazi persecution. In recognition of this, in 1984 she was awarded the title of Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem.
Vilnius was taken over by the Germans on 24 June 1941, in Operation Barbarossa, and the killing of the Jews began almost immediately.
Mother Betranda first agitated to save Vilnius’ Jewish population following the start of the Ponary massacre in July 1941. She initially sought to gain the support of the Vilnius Catholic leadership, but they rebuffed her efforts out of fear that the Nazi German occupation forces would destroy church property and kill any Christian(s) found to be aiding Jews.
The activists included Abe Kovner, the movement"s leader, Abraham Suckerwer, Arie Wilner and Edek Boraks. They helped the nuns with working their fields, while Kovner, realized the goals of Hitler"s Final Solution, worked on organizing a political resistance to the occupation and writing his manifesto for the later uprising.
When several of her nuns objected, Mother Bertranda reportedly threatened them with expulsion from the monastery and excommunication from the faith.
Some of the Hashomer Hatzair members later decided to leave their monastery hideout and to return to the Jewish Ghetto in Vilnius, where they organized an underground resistance movement. Soon after that, Mother Bertranda left the monastery and went to the Ghetto to volunteer her services. She was dissuaded from this by Kovner, who asked that she organize the procurement of supplies instead.
She and the other Dominican nuns then took it upon themselves to help the Jewish resistance by smuggling in arms and ammunition.
In this they became among the first to supply hand grenades and other weapons to the Vilnius ghetto underground. The uprising, organized by Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye (the United Partisan Organization) on 1 September 1943 was crushed.
The final Nazi destruction of whatever remained of the Ghetto followed. In September 1943, Mother Bertranda was arrested by the Nazi German occupation authorities and sent to a labor camp at Perwejniszki, near Kaunas (Polish: Kowno).
The monastery was closed and the community of nuns was forced to disperse.
After the war, Mother Bertranda asked for a dispensation from her vows and left the monastery. She reportedly remained a faithful Catholic, nonetheless. In 1984, Borkowska, now living alone in a small apartment in Warsaw, was awarded the title of Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem.
Abba Kovner, one of the young Jews who had been saved by Borkowska, personally presented a medal to her at a ceremony in Poland.