“It was hard, Władysława recalls, "especially with the water, because the well dried up and we had to carry water from the river, three kilometres away.”
She was ten-years-old and she did just that, as did her cousin, Eugenia Chrust.
Her father, Wojciech, and her uncle decided to help the Huberman family, the only Jewish family in the village of Lipniak, near Lublin.
In her parents' farm, they hid six people - Mendel, Tobcia, Dwojra and Zelman Huberman, as well as Srul and Rywka Rozenberg. Her uncle, Jan Kurkiewicz hid seven people.
The Kurkiewicz brothers added well-hidden shelters under their cottages. One of the rooms had a concealed entrance and an area of 4x2 metres. In case of danger, they could move into the attic and hide amongst the hay. The brothers also dug hiding places under their cowsheds and another one under the entrance hall.
The Kurkiewicz children, Jan’s daughter Eugenia and Wojciech’s daughter Władysława, were friends with the Huberman children from before the war. They would often come down to the hideouts to spend some time with them. At night, they would also walk out into the garden.
“One day", she says, "the Germans came. They found many potato pancakes in the house. They yelled, 'The pancakes are for Jews! They must be here!' They beat up my mother, but found no one.”
For some time, the hidden family paid for their upkeep. But, even when they ran out of money, they remained. They lived on the Kurkiewicz farms until they were liberated by the Red Army.
They later left for the USA, Canada and Brazil.
