Albin Tyll – Righteous Among the Nations

KJ, 16 November 2016
Albin Tyll has been posthumously awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations. The medal was accepted by his daughter, Grażyna Madejska. The ceremony, on 25th April 2013 at the Goldstein Palace in Katowice, featured the participation of the Israeli Deputy Ambassador, Nadav Eshcar, as well as Mila Sandberg-Mesner, one of those whom Tyll saved.

Tyll was born in Felizienthal, a German settlement near Stryj (now in the Ukraine). During the War, he lived in Kołomya where he worked for the city authorities. There, in the summer of 1941, he met Lola Sandberg. In 1942, Lola, together with her parents (Fanny and Zygmunt) and her sister (Mila), was forced to move into the Kołomya ghetto. Albin Tyll often visited them there, bringing them food and other goods useful for their daily lives.

During the liquidation of the ghetto in October 1942, the Sandberg family ended up in a transport headed for the Bełżec extermination camp. Lola and Mila, together with their cousin Jasia, jumped off the moving train.

The girls managed to get into contact with Albin Tyll, who immediately began arranging a hiding-place for them. With the help of the parish priest, Father Ludwik Peciak, he prepared false papers for them – Lola officially became Tyll’s wife, Mila became her cousin and Jasia became their housekeeper. Together, they lived in a rented room in Lwów. Later, they moved to the German settlement of Ernsdorf near Bóbrka, where they all managed to find work.

In 1945, Tyll together with members of the Sandberg family, crossed into Rumanian territory. Jasia settled in Israel, while Lola and Mila settled in Canada. Albin Tyll married a Rumanian doctor and emigrated to South America.