|
June
7, [1943]
...When
they both had left the house, Henryk stole out through the
window in order not to have to cross the yard... He returned
the same way from the barbers, but a Volksdeutsche
woman called Podgorska watched Henryk from an upper balcony as
he stole in and out. As it turned out later, she had long
suspected Teresa of harboring a Jew. She ran at once to the
Gendarmerie post and within a few minutes the house was
surrounded. The Gendarmes broke open the door and found only
Henryk. They beat him but he said nothing. He pretended he was
mute. They waited for the owner of the apartment.
The
occupants of the house decided to warn Teresa with the help of
their children. When she learned what had happened she
returned home instead of escaping. It had seemed that she was
an ordinary and rather empty-headed person, but she proved to
be a courageous girl. It had seemed to her that if she gave
evidence that she had known Henryk for a number of years and
believed him to be an "Aryan" she would be able to
save him. She did not think about herself. When she entered,
Henryk, who was bleeding badly, gave her to understand that he
had said nothing. An investigation was begun to find out who
he was and why he did not speak. She explained: "He must
have been frightened." She also explained that she had
known him for two years and that he was a Pole. She was asked
why he had climbed out through the window, and she replied
that they had agreed that he would do so when she was not at
home. One of the Germans then gave an order, without
hesitating, to examine Henryk in a brutal manner in Teresas
presence. They were both taken away. Henryk was killed. Teresa
was saved with great effort by Volksdeutsche relations
who had connections. She was sent to a concentration camp.
W.
Bartoszewski and Z. Lewinowna, eds., Ten jest z ojczyzny
mojej Polacy z pomoca Zydom 1939-1945, Cracow, 19692,
p. 951. (English version: Righteous Among the Nations: How
Poles Helped the Jews, 1939-1945, London, 1969.)
*
Sabina Dluzniewski. |
