Help to find the woman on the photo

During World War II, Anna Drelak née Siwińska and Stanisław Drelak (born 1902 – died 1976) lived in Złotkowo near Kleczew (Konińskie province). They had 8 children: Stanisław (born 1929 – died 2009), Maria (born 1931), Dorota (born 1932), Anna (born 1935), Blanka (born 1937), Barbara (born 1940), Lubomira (born 1943) and Gabriela (born 1945).

Initially, Stanisław worked in an oil factory, later – as a postman. During the war the family assumed the name of Ziętara, because Stanisław was sought by the Germans.

The family rented their house from a priest. They hid a woman of Jewish origin, whose last name remains unknown. She can be seen on the right side of the picture. Maria Drelak, daughter of Anna and Stanisław, is standing on the left side. The picture was taken by a photographer in Kleczew.

The Drelaks’ children called the woman “aunt". She lived together with the family in the house, but when the villagers started to gossip about her staying there for so long, she hid in the outbuilding at the attic. At that time she would leave the building only at night to walk in the garden. The Drelak family realized that they were running a great risk by hiding the Jew, but they did not stop helping her. The woman stayed with the Drelaks until the end of the war. When the Soviet Army took over Kleczew, she decided to leave her hiding place and try to find her relatives. The Drelaks returned to Dzierzążnia near Gębice, from where they had been previously deported by the Germans. Konrad Konieczny, grandson of the family, is searching for any information relating to the woman. Both he and his mother, Anna, would like to learn about her later fate and whether she succeeded in finding her own family.