Maria Kos and Małgosia Korngold became good friends in their gymnasium years. After the forming of the Częstochowa ghetto, Maria would bring her friend’s family basic amenities from the “Aryan” part of town. One day, Małgosia, accompanied by her younger sister, Janka, arrived on the Kos’s doorstep. Initially, everyone thought that they would stay with Maria only briefly.
At first, the girls lived in the house. After two weeks, however, a public announcement was made that harbouring Jews was punishable by death – and the Korngold sisters were kept alternately in the attic and basement of the Kos house.
The family’s fear of being discovered, especially by denouncers, motivated Maria to move her friends to the home of her aunt. At the same time, somebody from a pro-Jewish organization was able to obtain Aryan papers for Małgosia and Janka. Thanks to the documents, the sisters were able to go and work in Germany, where they survived the Holocaust. They never returned to Poland, opting to settle in Western Europe, instead. Małgosia remains in touch with Maria to this day.
