Looking for Jańcia
The little girl was called Jańcia (born in 1937). Within the Nabielski family, there were already five children of various ages, the youngest being my mother-in-law, Halina, born in 1938.
The little girl was hidden in that home for four years. Unfortunately, the conditions were harsh. There wash poverty and hunger. In addition, Jańcia could not leave the house during the daylight hours. Her dark hair might draw the attention of others to her. No one in the village knew anything about the hidden Jewish girl. At times of danger, she was hidden in the basement of the house, in the barn, the forest or the fields. Jańcia was an exceptionally clever, polite and modest girl. During all those hours of danger, she sat quietly hidden.
My mother-in-law, Halina, recalls two especially dangerous events which occurred during the time the child was hidden. The Nabielski house stood on the same road, the road to the school, where German soldiers were stationed nearby. The house was comprised of only one room and a small kitchen. The Germans entered the house and sat down at the table. Jańcia managed to cover herself with the bedclothes in time. She lay motionless. Unfortunately, the call of nature was stronger and the growing puddle under the bed drew the attention of their ”guests”. Thanks to the aunt’s presence of mind, the blame for it was laid upon Stasia, the cat.
On another occasion, Jańcia was hidden in the bean field. After the danger had passed, someone came to bring the girl home. But there was no one in the hiding place. In dismay, the whole family searched for her everywhere. They wept, for they feared the worst. Happily, Jańcia was found.
After the War, my mother-in-law’s mother decided to have the girl baptised and to treat her as a foster daughter. She went to Boczek, the local parish priest, regarding the matter. He agreed to do it on condition that the girl’s family could not be found. As it happened, Jańcia was on the Provincial Jewish Committee’s missing persons list in Kraków. So, it was decided to hand Jańcia over to the Committee. The decision was extremely hard and painful for everyone. It was a huge mistake to leave with girl with the Committee without any explanation and without any farewells. The family also wept when the mother returned home without the child. My mother-in-law was the most upset – as a child, she found it very difficult to understand the situation. My mother-in-law’s mother, until the end of her life, could never come to terms with the fact that she had given the child away and did not know what had happened to her.
I began searching for Jańcia in 2005 at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. There, I met Ania Przybyszewska-Drozd. She took down some basic information about Jańcia – her real name, her date of birth, the names of her parents. It turned out that her father, Abraham, had survived the War. Within Yad Vashem documentation, I could find no mention of Jańcia’s mother or brother. Unfortunately, this process was not without mistakes. As it happened, two Abraham Seelenfreund’s had survived the War. First, we tracked the younger one. We managed to find the address of his daughter in Israel. We made contact with her, but our joy was premature. We had to go back to the beginning. The other Abraham lived in Wałbrzych after the War. He had died and was buried in Kraków in1956. After further study of Yad Vashem documentation, we found a relative of the other Abraham. It was Abraham’s niece who, unfortunately, was no longer alive. In the meantime, for many months, I tried to gain information which would help us in the search. The other problem was that we also did not know what Jańcia’s correct name would be. In various documents, her father appeared under two surnames - Mandelbaum and Seelenfreund.
Also, Polish legislation, which protected personal details, did not make my search any easier. Despite that, thanks to the kindness of many people, I managed to obtain documents from the Kraków ghetto relating to Jańcia’s mother, as well as documents relating to Abraham’s employment in Wałbrzych. I received a lot of help from Mrs Lea Balint of Jerusalem. She is professionally involved with issues concerning the Children of the Holocaust and in searching out their true identity. It was she who linked Jańcia’s post-War stay in a Zakopane sanatorium with the transportation of Jewish children from Poland to Israel. It was a shot the dark!! On a Sunday, I received the news that Jańcia was alive! I do not think that I need to describe my joy.
Unfortunately, finding Jańcia necessitated the return of unpleasnt memories which, for the time being, Jańcia does not want to talk about. I now know that her brother, Zygmund, was also given to a Polish family in Wiśnicz. Unfortunately, the family betrayed him to the Germans and, together with his mother, he was transported out of Wiśnicz. Apparently, his mother tried to throw him out of the truck. The Germans noticed this and both mother and son were shot on the spot. Jańcia’s father’s story is also tragic and Jańcia doesn’t want to talk about it.
There are a host of matters which I would still like to clarify, find out about and have explained. Jańcia is now not the youngest of people and, after her remarkable experiences, I must respect that. I will understand if she does not wish to maintain contact with us. I will understand if she does not wish to return to those tragic times and events. However, they are remarkably interesting and salutary. I know that there are still many people who are searching for their relatives, or would wish to, but do not know how to go about it. Earlier search attempts were unsuccessful since documentation was often scattered throughout the country and even overseas. Thanks to the internet, it is now much faster and easier.
And you also need to have a little luck.
I sincerely thank everyone (special thanks to Jacek) who helped me in my search, in locating and understanding many, at times, very difficult matters.
