Awarding of the title „Righteous Among the Nations”
The ceremony was part of the 21st Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków. It was co-organized by the Michael Traison Fund and the Galicia Jewish Museum.
These are the people honored during the ceremony:
Aleksandra Dąmbska Rudecka and Maria and Marcin Brykczyński, who lived in Lviv during the war. They rescuedFeliks Sandauer (later named Sawicki), a boy born in 1928. Aleksandra Dąmbska was his mother’s friend from work. She helped Feliks get „Aryan papers” on the name Sawicki and moved him to Skołyszyn near Jasło, to the house of her sister Maria and her husband Marcin Brykczyński. The rescued remained in contact with his saviors until his death.
Anna and Stanisław Jaje, who rescued Shiyer Mutzenmacher Manson and sheltered him at their house in the village of Szczucin near Dąbrowa Tarnowska. The son of the rescued, Marcel Manson, and the daughter of the Jajes, Michalina Wiślicka, both participated in the ceremony.
Anna Kaczorowska, Maria Płatek and Anna and Piotr Madej, who were honored thanks to the efforts of Prof. Eleazar Shafrir (born in Kraków as Lutek Spiegel). In 1943 the 18-year-old Lutek and his friend Rysiek were transported from the Kraków ghetto to the Płaszów camp. Anna Kaczorowska, the prewar domestic of Lutek’s friend, helped them there, gave them food and money. After some time they both decided to escape to the house of Maria Płatek, who had been working at the house of the Spiegels for many years. Together with her husband Józef she offered help to the escapees. After some time they moved to the house of another former domestic, Anna Madej and her husband Piotr. Lutek and Rysiek finally managed to reach Hungary. After the war they both settled in Israel. Prof. Shafrir has been trying to find his saviors for many years but they had disappeared.
Janina Lembas who was 30 during the war, was living in Kraków on Rakowiecka Street and raising a disabled daughter alone. Despite her difficult situation, for 2 years she had been sheltering her friends, the Jewish Mandel family: Michał, Helena and their son Roman (after the war named Raymond Mandel, he later emigrated to Canada). Janina Lembas died in 1953, the rescued all passed away too.
Eufrozyna and Edward Miklas who rescued Rena Kant Kauffman, who currently lives in Tel Aviv. The medal was presented to the granddaughter of the Righteous, Marta Dziadzo from Kraków.
Zofia Pagos and her brother Stanisław Pagos, who were running a farm in Gruszów near Dąbrowa Tarnowska during the war. They rescued their friends, the Weit family, escapees from the Dąbrowa ghetto. Abraham and Avigdor Weit had been hiding at the Mouse of the Pagoses for two years until January 1945 in a shelter in the stable.
Anna and Stanisław Pietrukaniec, who adopted and rescued Jerzy Pietrukaniec, born in 1941 in the family of Otto and Bronisława Goldstein. In August 1942 Anna and Stanisław Pietrukaniec, a childless couple from Kraków, took him from the ghetto when he was one year old. They baptized him and gave him their name. Since that time they have been his only family.
Zofia and Wojciech Rudnik and their son Tadeusz, who were hiding two Jewish children in their apartment in Kraków and running a secret hiding place containing the documents of the Jewish Combat Organization. In December 1942 they were arrested and sent to Auschwitz together with their 14-year-old son.
