Assanowicz Maria ; Daughter: Bajraszewska Halina (Assanowicz)

Assanowicz, Maria Bajraszewska, Halina Upon the outbreak of World War II, Nina and Martin Danzig escaped from Warsaw to the small town of Tuczyn, near Rowne in the Volhynia district, which was then under Soviet rule. In 1941, after the area had been occupied by the Germans, Nina gave birth to a daughter, Edith. In order to obtain work certificates, the Danzigs began to search for employment. Nina was taken on in a workshop that produced machine-knitted socks. There she became acquainted with Halina Bajraszewska (nee Assanowicz). Halina was of Tartar extraction, and had fled to Tuczyn from the nearby township of Korzec in order to escape being drafted for forced labor. During a conversation between the two women, it emerged that Halina and her family had been friendly with Jews in the past, and Nina was thus encouraged to ask Halina’s mother, Maria Assanowicz, who lived in Korzec, to give refuge to baby Edith in order to save her from the Germans. From September 1942, when Maria agreed to accept the child, until November 1943, she cared for Edith as though she were her own daughter. The Danzigs, who subsequently succeeded in escaping from the Tuczyn ghetto and procuring “Aryan” papers, hid nearby and visited their daughter from time to time. When the war and its attendant hardships were over, they were reunited with Edith, and moved back to Warsaw. With great difficulty, they succeeded in helping Maria and Halina return to Poland from the Soviet Union and settle down in a new home. After immigrating to Israel, the Danzigs maintained contact with the two women, and provided them with financial support. In their subsequent testimony, the Danzigs stated that not only their daughter, but also they themselves owed their lives to Maria and Halina, since the fact that she was in safe hands allowed them more freedom of movement, and they were thus able to escape certain death. According to the Danzigs, Maria and Halina were motivated by purely humanitarianconsiderations and received no compensation for their actions, which were undertaken at great risk to themselves. On September 13, 1982, Yad Vashem recognized Maria Assanowicz and her daughter, Halina Bajraszewska as Righteous Among the Nations.