Banaś Franciszek

Banaś Franciszek As a member of the Polish auxiliary police, Franciszek Banaś was responsible for guarding the entrance to the Kraków ghetto. Banas regularly "turned a blind eye" to, and even helped, attempts to smuggle food and medicines into the ghetto. When the Aktionen began, he helped Jews escape from the ghetto and gave them the addresses of people to whom they could turn. Despite the risks he ran, Banas never expected any remuneration. Among those whose lives he saved were three-year-old Miriam Schein, Rabbi Lewertów and the Hoffmann family. After the war, they all left Poland, except for Schein, who stayed on in Kraków. On May 8, 1980, Yad Vashem recognized Franciszek Banaś as Righteous Among the Nations.