They taught her catechism so well, that she know it better than I do

Zofia Kosak-Szczucka ordered, with her rule (every saved child has to be a child of the church), to baptize Janka. Mrs. Maria reminds: “For my Mum it had to be Janka’s decision, although she knew that it could reduce the risk for our family. The documents would be real.” Zofia Kossak persuaded Mrs. Maria’s parents. Zofia’s son - Witold and Jadzia, a link, a daughter of Cat Mackiewicz, said they would prepare Janka to the baptism and thet they wolud be her godfather and godmother. “They taught her catechism so well that she know it better than I do!” laughs Mrs. Maria. Janka was baptized in Wszystkich Świętych Church in Warsaw.

The doctors and Mrs. Maria’s parents fear that Mrs. Róża would infect Janka came true. Janka was sick. “Janeczka was coughing and it turned out that she has cavern in her lungs as big as a greengage.” Says Mrs. Maria with excitement. “My parents decided to locate her in Otwock in sanatorium antytuberculosis. Janka stayed there for 6 months. We were going there and bringing her some food. In spite of her protests she stayed there for a half of year but she was cured effectively.”

Janka came back home and in the spring 1944 she joined the group preparing to their first Holy Communion. The neighbours and their children didn’t mind it and they treated her normally.

In the summer 1944 Mrs. Maria went to take some practice at Kawińscy’s. She escaped from being taken to work by Germans. She was thought to stay there for two months but she stayed only a month. Her father and brother took her. Warsaw was prepering to the insurrection.

“Kawińscy gave us a lot of food, which was given to the AK. We were sufering the famine during the insurection but solidres needed food more.”-Mrs. Maria explains. “Just before the insurection my confirmation was. On my third name I took Zofia. Zofia Kossak-Szczucka was my idol.” Mrs. Maria admits.

For us it was obvious!

Everything would have been all right but for Mrs. Róża was sick. A doctor found by Mrs. Maria’s Mum said that it was tuberculosis and Mrs. Róża had to be taken to a country side. Mrs. Roża and Janka were taken to Milanówek to a small cottage. Mrs. Roża always keep Janka very close therefore the girl was infected. After a month Mrs. Maria’s mother took them from Milanówek and placed Mrs. Róża in hospital Dzieciątka Jezus. “Doctors and nurses took care very well of Mrs. Roża. My Mum was cooking for her some delicious things that we didn’t have at home. For us it was obvious!” says Mrs. Maria.

Dying Mrs. Róża told Mrs. Maria’s mother that she had a brother named Zwanzigar in the USA, who had left at age of 16. Mother got his adress from Mrs. Róża to find him after the war. “My mother rewrote the adress and sewed it in our coats” says Mrs. Maria. After the war Janka managed to contact with her uncle.

Escape from Cracovian Ghetto

The history of Feldman’s escape from Cracovian Ghetto is really terrifying for us-living in a free Poland. It shows tragedies of people who were persecuted just because of their provenance and a degradation of those who wanted to survive.

Mrs. Róża with her two doughters Janka and Ewa was bricked up with supplies of food and water by her husband. Terrible things heppened in this hideout. After a month they were free and they had to escape. Mrs. Róża’s husband was removed to a concentration camp. Being on their own, they spent all the night of liquidation The Ghetto in a small toilet where Mrs. Róża pulled out all her gold teeth. The next mornnig she gave it all to the wermacht soldier and they managed to escape out of the Ghetto.

They went to the tenement house where the owners were Mrs. Róża’s parents. The old caretaker lived there with his family. Mrs. Roża’s parents had been helping the caretaker to bring up his children, they had given him money for children’s education. The man took care of tired women immediately. His son contacted with a link Krysta (she survived the war and got The Medal of Righteous). She managed to get documents on name Kwiatkowska for Mrs. Roża and her doughters which seemed as being made by church. They were very good.

Ewa stayed in Cracow (her feet were frost-bitten). Mrs. Róża and Janka were taken by Krysta to Warsaw. They didn’t have any Semitic facial features so there were no problem with taking them by train. In the meantime, Krysta contacted with Zofia Kossak, who had found a place for women in Jetkiewicz’s house.

“There brought them so skinny and terrified”- Mrs. Maria says, “Janeczka was nobbled at first but then she started to play with puppets and smile.”

The Jewishes were living in Jętkiewicz’s flat. Mrs. Róża Kwiatkowska didn’t go out of the their room but Janka was bringing up normaly. She was even going out on backyard and playing with neighbour's children. “The neighbours were said Janka is a child of our cuusin from Zamojszczyzna (it was a time of pacification of this region) and everyone believed that.” Every family from tenement house in Twarda street was involved in conspiracy so there was no danger from neighbours.

Mum was spontaneous, she agreed immediately but father had some resistance.

Rescue of The Feldmans was coincidence. Mrs. Maria was going to Emilii Plater School and had no contact with the Jewish. “My father believed that we shouldn’t promote The Jewish’s trade. He wasn’t said about shopping in Jewish’s shop in our tenement house. However, the whole family was moved by the fact of Jewish’s persecution (getto, bands).” Recalls Mrs. Maria.

“Our house in Twarda street was very involved in conspiracy. There were grammar school’s completes and there was a room for students from medical academy from Flying University. For some time in our house Zofia Kossak-Szczucka (relative of my Mum) and her son Witold Satkowski were hidding. Zofia Koosak-Szczucka, called by me as an auntie, was co-organizer of Żegota. She was helping to save Jewish children with such a devotion and was “craming” them in some Polish families.” At the beginning of 1942 she asked for safekeeping of two Jewesses, a mother Róża Feldman and her a doughter Janka. They had escaped fom Cracovian Ghetto. “Mum was spontaneous, she agreed immediately but father had some resistance. He had to decide quickly but he was afraid of risk of whole family. But auntie managed to beg him.”

Mrs. Maria and her family thought that it was christian duty to help some other people in such a difficult situation.

I have nothing to hide...

“I have nothing to hide,” says Mrs. Maria starting the interview and she lets us record the conversation. We sit in a small, quiet room in Wola district. It is the end of March and there is a snowstorm behind window.

Mrs. Maria Łopuszańska is a charming, elegant, old lady. She immediately gave us cookies and tea and share with us all her experiences, momories. She patiently explained to us the historical circumstances, told us about the details of the tragic events related to World War II.

She refers to the war as a very difficult time but tells about it calmly. Mrs. Maria begins from showing us a medal of Righteous Among the Nations and the Commander’s Cross of the Rebirth of Poland which she was awarded by the President Lech Kaczyński in November 2008. Immediately she adds: “These orders due to mainly my parents. When we were hiding [them] I was not of age, I was about 16. However, the risk of life was the whole family.”

In Poland, as in any other European country, for hiding Jews the punishment was the death of whole family.

The whole Mrs. Maria’s strory is very emotional. We can see that this history is very important for her.

Intrduction

This blog is devoted for Mrs. Maria Łopuszańska. Mrs Maria (and her paretns Janina i Henryk Jętkiewiczowie) got a Medal-Righteous Among the Nation in 1997.

Our blog is part of a project- Polin Webfusion, organized by The Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

Autors bloga: Karolina Rutkowska i Tosiek Zakrzewski.
Contact: tosiek.zakrzewski@gmail.com