Podgórski sisters
Encyclopedia
The Podgórski sisters, Stefania Podgórska (born 1925) and Helena Podgórska (born 1935), were born to a Catholic
farming family near Przemyśl
, in south-eastern Poland
where they lived. During the Holocaust, sixteen-year-old Stefania and her six-year-old sister harboured thirteen Jewish men, women and children in the attic of their home for two-and-a-half years. Both were later honored as the Righteous Among the Nations
by Yad Vashem
as well as by the Jewish and Polish organizations in North America, for their wartime heroism.
Before the 1939 invasion of Poland
by Nazi Germany
and the Soviet Union
, Stefania Podgorska (born 1925 in Lipa) worked in a grocery store owned by the Diamants, a Jewish family. Her father had died in 1938 after an illness. Soon after the German attack, her mother and brother were taken to the Third Reich
for forced labor
, while the Diamants were forced into a ghetto. The two Podgórski sisters lived in Przemyśl alone in an apartment rented by Stefania, who was 16 at that time. She got a job in town as a machine-tool operator.
The border between the two invaders ran through the middle of the city until Operation Barbarossa
in June 1941. In 1942 the news spread about the Jewish Ghetto in Przemysl being liquidated by the Nazis. Stefania's prewar employer's son, Max Diamant, appeared on their doorstep. He escaped with his brother and cousin from the train to Belzec extermination camp
. The girls were terrified, but gave Max permission to hide in the attic. He contacted his family in the Ghetto and asked Stefania to accept them also, including his younger brother Henek and Henek's wife Danuta, Dr. William Shylenger and his daughter Judy, and a friend of his, a dentist with his son. In order to accommodate the fugitives Stefania soon rented a semi-detached cottage with two rooms, a kitchen and an attic, on Tatarska Street.
After a few weeks they were completely without money. Stefania started to knit sweaters and take orders for them, from her friends and acquaintances. She was trading clothes for food and buying it, if necessary, on the black market. An SS man moved in next door. Max kept vigil with others to eliminate any noises. In early 1944 a German officer entered the apartment and announced that Stefania and Helena must vacate the place in two hours. The Jewish fugitives begged the two sisters to flee as they felt that all of them were doomed. But Stefania - after praying to the Black Madonna of Częstochowa
- thought otherwise. "I am not leaving you", she said. The officer reappeared telling the girls that, after all, he decided to take a room opposite the house for his two nurses from the military hospital.
On July 27, 1944, the Soviet Army
entered Przemyśl
. The thirteen Jews, though emaciated and weak, were free. Max, who took the name Josef Burzminski, proposed to Stefania (Fusia) and was accepted. In 1961 the couple emigrated to the United States
, where Burzminski became a dentist. They have a son and daughter. Helena Podgórska remained in Poland, married and became a physician in Wrocław. In 1979 the sisters were honored by Yad Vashem
, in Jerusalem, as Righteous among the Nations
.
A television movie, called Hidden in Silence and made in 1996, with Kellie Martin
and Gemma Coughlan as Fusia & Helena, tells their story.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
farming family near Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
, in south-eastern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
where they lived. During the Holocaust, sixteen-year-old Stefania and her six-year-old sister harboured thirteen Jewish men, women and children in the attic of their home for two-and-a-half years. Both were later honored as the Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
as well as by the Jewish and Polish organizations in North America, for their wartime heroism.
Before the 1939 invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
, Stefania Podgorska (born 1925 in Lipa) worked in a grocery store owned by the Diamants, a Jewish family. Her father had died in 1938 after an illness. Soon after the German attack, her mother and brother were taken to the Third Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
for forced labor
Forced labor in Germany during World War II
The use of forced labour in Nazi Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in German-occupied...
, while the Diamants were forced into a ghetto. The two Podgórski sisters lived in Przemyśl alone in an apartment rented by Stefania, who was 16 at that time. She got a job in town as a machine-tool operator.
The border between the two invaders ran through the middle of the city until Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in June 1941. In 1942 the news spread about the Jewish Ghetto in Przemysl being liquidated by the Nazis. Stefania's prewar employer's son, Max Diamant, appeared on their doorstep. He escaped with his brother and cousin from the train to Belzec extermination camp
Belzec extermination camp
Belzec, Polish spelling Bełżec , was the first of the Nazi German extermination camps created for implementing Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust...
. The girls were terrified, but gave Max permission to hide in the attic. He contacted his family in the Ghetto and asked Stefania to accept them also, including his younger brother Henek and Henek's wife Danuta, Dr. William Shylenger and his daughter Judy, and a friend of his, a dentist with his son. In order to accommodate the fugitives Stefania soon rented a semi-detached cottage with two rooms, a kitchen and an attic, on Tatarska Street.
Life on Tatarska Street
Helena with her sister Stefania moved in first, followed by Max Diamant. Then came Dr. Shylenger with his daughter and the dentist with his son. The dentist's friend, a widow from the ghetto came also with her son and daughter. She wrote a threatening note that she would denounce the girls if she was refused. The dentist begged Stefania to admit his nephew with his wife. Joseph's younger brother, Henek, with his wife arrived later, finally there came a Jewish mailman: thirteen Jews in total. Max made a wall in the attic from boards bought by Stefania, securing a sleeping quarter for everybody.After a few weeks they were completely without money. Stefania started to knit sweaters and take orders for them, from her friends and acquaintances. She was trading clothes for food and buying it, if necessary, on the black market. An SS man moved in next door. Max kept vigil with others to eliminate any noises. In early 1944 a German officer entered the apartment and announced that Stefania and Helena must vacate the place in two hours. The Jewish fugitives begged the two sisters to flee as they felt that all of them were doomed. But Stefania - after praying to the Black Madonna of Częstochowa
Black Madonna of Czestochowa
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa is a revered icon of the Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland.-The icon:The origins of the icon and the date of its composition are still hotly contested among scholars...
- thought otherwise. "I am not leaving you", she said. The officer reappeared telling the girls that, after all, he decided to take a room opposite the house for his two nurses from the military hospital.
On July 27, 1944, the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
entered Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
. The thirteen Jews, though emaciated and weak, were free. Max, who took the name Josef Burzminski, proposed to Stefania (Fusia) and was accepted. In 1961 the couple emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where Burzminski became a dentist. They have a son and daughter. Helena Podgórska remained in Poland, married and became a physician in Wrocław. In 1979 the sisters were honored by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, in Jerusalem, as Righteous among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous among the Nations of the world's nations"), also translated as Righteous Gentiles is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis....
.
A television movie, called Hidden in Silence and made in 1996, with Kellie Martin
Kellie Martin
Kellie Noelle Martin is an American television actress who is known for her roles as Rebecca Thacher on Life Goes On, Christy Huddleston on Christy, Lucy Knight on ER, and Samantha Kinsey on Mystery Woman.-Early life:...
and Gemma Coughlan as Fusia & Helena, tells their story.
Further reading
- Thomas Fleming, "Did the children Cry?" Reader's Digest, February 1996.
- Adler, Morris, Jewish Heritage Reader, Taplinger Publishing Co., Inc., 1965.
- Lerski, George, and Halina Lerski, Jewish-Polish Coexistence, 1772–1939, Greenwood Press, 1986.
- Vishniac, Roman, and Elie Wiesel, A Vanished World, Noonday Press, 1986.