Bronisław Kowalczyk’s aunt, Helena Przebindowska, agreed to shelter ‘Marysia’ (Anna Allerhand) at her place, for a few days. Her daughters Mirosława and Urszula agreed. But the girl quickly became seriously ill, making it impossible for her to leave the house. Helena attempted to cure her at home, as it was too dangerous to call a doctor. Fortunately ‘Marysia’ recovered, by which time she was so loved by the family that they decided she should remain with them.
But the situation became more complicated when another Polish family moved in with them. Wartime conditions often saw two families sharing one house. Without "Aryan papers" ‘Marysia’ could not even walk around the house, so a priest and family friend, Father Faustyn Żelski, prepared a baptism certificate for her in the name of ‘Marysia Malinowska’. From then on she was introduced as a member of the family from eastern Poland, and she was able to remain there safely until the end of the war.
The three Allerhand children all survived the war: Aleksander was moved from camp to camp, and eventually was placed on Schindler’s List and was sent to the Brunnlitz camp, where he was liberated. Anna continued to pass as a non-Jewish girl, and after the war she was joined by her brother and father, who was released from the POW camp, and together they found Róża. The girls left soon afterwards for Israel, where they were later joined by their father [Leopold] and Aleksander after he graduated from university in Poland.
From the exhibition Polish Heroes: Those Who Rescued Jews, curated by the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the Galicia Jewish Museum, and the Polish/American/Jewish Alliance for Youth Action (PAJA).
