Testimony of Michael Mike Stolowitzky, born in Warsaw, Poland, 1936, regarding his experiences as a child in Warsaw, in Vilna and in hiding in a forest, and regarding Gertruda Babilinjia, later recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations

Testimony of Michael Mike Stolowitzky, born in Warsaw, Poland, 1936, regarding his experiences as a child in Warsaw, in Vilna and in hiding in a forest, and regarding Gertruda Babilinjia, later recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations Life before the war; from a family of merchants; business dealings of the family in railroad tracks; information regarding the caregiver who rescued him; vague memories of his mother; German occupation; escape to Vilna together with Gertruda Babilinjia, his Polish nanny; information regarding Gertruda, his caregiver; death of his mother; oath given by the caregiver to his mother that she would bring her son to Eretz Israel; searches by the Gestapo; visits to the church; being baptized by a priest; detention by the SS; being rescued by Carol Rinek, an SS officer; help provided by the caregiver in transferring food to the Vilna Ghetto; escape to the forest; life in hiding in the forest in a bunker; liberation; Return to Vilna; life in the Eschwege Airbase DP camp; learning Hebrew; membership in Beitar; illegal aliya attempt to Eretz Israel on the ship, "Exodus"; return aliya to Israel, 1948; life in Tel Aviv together with Gertruda, his nanny; death of Gertruda; story receiving wide publicity in the press and on television at the time of her death; recognition of the caregiver, Gertruda Babilinjia, as a Righteous Among the Nations; receiving information regarding his father's life in Paris until his deportation and death in Auschwitz. Note: The story of the witness and his rescuer is described in the book, "The Oath" by the author, Ram Oren.