80th Anniversary of the Denunciation of the “Krysia” Bunker by the Germans

Redakcja / Editorial staff; English translation: Andrew Rajcher, 7 March 2024
It was one of the largest and best organised Jewish hiding places on the "Aryan side" of Warsaw during the "liquidation" of the ghetto in the summer of 1942. From the moment it was constructed until the day it was discovered, the bunker (code-named "Krysia") held around forty people. Among them was historian Emanuel Ringelblum, co-creator of the Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto, as well as his wife Judyta and son Uriel (Uri). On 7th March 1944, as the result of denunciation, German gendarme officers, supported by the "blue police", discovered the hiding-place. A few days later, probably on 10th March, all the Jews in hiding , as well as their two Polish guardians, Mieczysław Wolski and Janusz Wysocki, were shot by the Germans on the Warsaw Ghetto ruins. 80 years have passed since these events took place. Learn about the history of the Wolski family and of the Jews in hiding, with their help, in the "Krysia" bunker. Read about the circumstances under which the hiding-place was discovered by the Germans.

" On 7th March 1944, before noon, Germans and navy blue policemen came to the kitchen, where my mother [Małgorzata Wolska – ed.], brother Mieczysław, I and my sick sister Halina were. They took my brother straight to the greenhouse in the garden. At this time, I ran quickly into the room and lowered the blind - it was the sign of danger. Janusz was near the greenhouse when he saw that the blind was down, He ran to 'Krysia' and remained there. Through the window, I saw Germans near 'Krysia' and Jews coming out, standing against a wall with their hands raised”, recalled Wanda Szandurska (nee Wolska) about the German search.

The Wolski family (Małgorzata, her son Mieczysław, as well as daughters Halina and Wanda) lived in the Warsaw Ochota district at ul. Grójecka 81 (other sources state 84). She had been helping Jews since 1942.

Why did the Wolski family construct the "Krysia” bunker? What were the living conditions like in this hiding-place? When did Emanuel Ringelblum, with his wife and son, hide there? How did the Germans discover the hiding-place? Read the story of the Wolski family on this portal - prepared, using the latest research, by Dr Aleksandra Namysło.

Read more: The "Krysia” Bunker - the Story of the Wolski Family of Warsaw [A story of Aid]

In 1989, the Yad Vashem Institute decided to honour Małgorzata and Mieczysław Wolski, Halina Michalecka, Wanda Szandurska and Janusz Wysocki with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. 

In 2009, Dr Emanuel Ringelblum was named as patron of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, which is where the Underground Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto is preserved. This is a unique collection of documents for researching the extermination of the Jews in occupied Poland. It has been included in the UNESCO "Memory of the World" listing.

The events of March 1944 are memorialised by a plaque, unveiled in 1990, on the site where the Wolski family house and garden were once located, at ul. Grójecka 77 (current address). On 9th September 2021, the Warsaw City Council decided to name this site the"Wolski Family Square".

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