Jadwiga Joźwik was a daughter of small farmers from the neighborhood of Sadowne. During the war, she moved to Warsaw and was employed as a babysitter by Maria and Edward Teskis.
Vigorous and compassionate, she was never indifferent to Jews’ misery, both in her family village and in the capital: each time she knew she would go past the ghetto, she took some food with her to pass it to those in need.
When her employer took three „ prewar acquaintances” under her roof, the Muszyńskis family, Jadwiga quickly realised they were Jewish hiders. Although it put her life in danger and doubled the number of duties, Jadwiga agreed without protest to look after the new housemates. She and Irena Muszyńska soon developed a close friendship.
Also a teenage boy, Janusz, who would later become a “tenant” at the Teskis’ house, experienced Jadwiga’s kindliness. Due to her help, the boy received a safe Polish identity.
When Germans came to the flat looking for Jewish hiders, all housemates were rescued by Jadwiga’s conscious mind. Although the girl was terrified, she had managed to hide the Muszyńskis so well that they were not discovered. Today, she is surprised by all the strength she found to slam the door in front of Germans and to do everything she did in such a short time…
Both the Muszyńskis and Janusz Konorski safely came through the war. They emigrated some time after.