Raising funds for the restoration of the grave and the commemoration of Teofila Kic, a "Righteous Among the Nations"

Redakcja, 27 January 2026

Can this World War II heroine - a seamstress from Przemyśl - whose courage and selfless help for another human being testify to the highest values, be forgotten? Let us not allow this to happen. A fundraising campaign is currently underway to ensure a dignified commemoration of Teofila Kic (1887-1960) - a "Righteous Among the Nations" who, during the German occupation, helped her acquaintance Klara Pfeffer and her daughter Maria, after they escaped from the Przemyśl ghetto. Many years later, the rescued Maria Orwid became a psychiatrist and a pioneer of family therapy in Poland. Today, the grave of Teofila Kic is in poor condition and its maintenance fee has not been paid, which puts it at risk of liquidation. The National Museum of the Przemysł Region has undertaken efforts to preserve the headstone, restore it and to place a plaque informing visitors of Teofila Kic’s deeds. Learn more in this article about what we can do, together, to save the memory of Teofila Kic.

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The grave of Teofila Kic is located in the Main Cemetery in Przemyśl (section no. 33, row 6, grave 21). It is not maintained and has no legal caretakers, because Teofila Kic left no descendants.

The National Museum of the Przemysł Region, together with Alicja Zioło, author of the book Krakowianki. Twarze polskiej herstorii (Women of Kraków - Faces of Polish Herstory) and a researcher into the biography of Maria Orwid, has undertaken efforts to save the grave of Teofila Kic.

For statutory reasons, the Museum is unable to independently organise a fundraising campaign. Therefore, this task has been assumed by the Przemyśl and Region Friends’ Society, the board of which has, for many years, been involved in activities aimed at protecting and commemorating historic cemeteries and sites of national memory.

Support the fundraiser - learn the story of Teofil Kic

The aim of the fundraising campaign is to raise funds to commission a commemorative plaque, to carry out the necessary conservation work on the gravestone and to settle outstanding fees for the maintenance of the burial plot in the Main Cemetery in Przemyśl.

Donations can be made to the designated bank sub-account of the Przemyśl and Region Friends’ Society — detailed information is provided below.

The Board of the Society and the Museum Directors express their sincere gratitude in advance for any support, even for the smallest financial contribution.

We encourage you to take part in the fundraising campaign to ensure the lasting commemoration of Teofila Kic,a "Righteous Among the Nation". During the years of the German occupation, she helped her acquaintance Klara Pfeffer and her twelve-year-old daughter Maria when they escaped from the ghetto in Przemyśl. Thanks to Teofila’s help, both survived the Holocaust.

After the war, Maria Orwid was a pioneer in the development of Polish psychiatry. She was the founder of Poland’s first clinic of child and adolescent psychiatry and conducted research involving former prisoners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, among the first studies in the world to address post-camp trauma. After 1989, she initiated psychotherapy programs for Holocaust survivors.