The brothers, Kazimierz and Franciszek Barys, lived with their family in Gaje Kudynowskie, Zborów District, the Ternopil Province. After the death of their father Michał (1886-1942), they ran a farm with their mother Katarzyna (died 1968) and other siblings, Maria, Jan (died 1972) and Helena (died 1976).
In autumn 1942 or at the beginning of 1943, the Barys family took to their house Gusta (Golda) Schechter from Olejów who had been roaming about the forest and, passing by their house, asked for accommodation for the night for her and her two small children: her daughter Fryda and her son Martin. At that time, her husband was dead.
The Barys family took care of them until the liberation. In her declaration made in 1985, Gusta underlined that the help provided by the Barys family was gratuitous and that they experienced persecution and exposed themselves to a danger. They also took to their house Mania (Maria) Nissenbaum and Leon Rozenberg from Zborów. Kazimierz Barys reported that he had known Gusta by sight, because she had lived in Olejów near the school which he attended. Nissenbaum and Rozenberg came to the Barys family through their mutual acquaintances.
The first shelter was in the attic but after Jews hidden in a similar way in the neighbourhood had been discovered, the Barys arranged an underground shelter under the barn and masked the entrance with a heavy chest and farm machines. The Jews in the shelter were provided with food and waste was taken away. It took about an hour to open the entrance to the shelter. The hosts also washed their clothes. It was only possible to leave the shelter under the cover of night to take a breath of fresh air and to wash.
Although the house was searched many times, the shelter was not found. In July 1944, shortly before the liberation, Rosenberg left the shelter and was recognized by an Ukrainian who gave him away to the Germans.
The other people survived and left, like the Barys family, to Poland first. In 1950, Gusta Schechter emigrated to the USA with her children and settled down in Chicago, where she opened three restaurants. Her daughter, Frieda Saperstein, worked as a real estate agent, whilst her son Martin ran a sport shop. The Schechters also maintained close contact with Mania Nissenbaum-Birnberg. For a few years, the family exchanged letters with the Barys family in Poland. They put money to the letters.
In 1982, Maria Barys-Szul, who emigrated from Poland and settled down in Canada, was awarded the title of the Righteous Among the Nations. The help which she provided was an inspiration for Joanna H. Kraus's play "Angel in the Night", whilst Mania Birnberg handed over the materials on the help provided by Maria Barys-Szul to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
In 1987, the Yad Vashem Institute also awarded the titles of the Righteous Among the Nations to Kazimierz and Franciszek Barys.
