Biardzka Antonina

Biardzka-Krysińska Antonina Helena In 1940, when rumors spread that the Germans were planning to set up a ghetto in the city of Siedlce, in the Lublin district, Chandlarski and his 15-year-old daughter, Ester, turned up at the home of Antonina Biardzka, who lived in the nearby village of Rakowice. Biardzka agreed to Chandlarski's request to take his daughter on as a farmhand. Ester stayed on the farm, and was even officially registered at the local labor exchange (Arbeitsamt). A year or so later, Biardzka received instructions from the German authorities that Ester was to be transferred, under police escort, to the ghetto. In the middle of the night, as they were on their way to Siedlce, her Polish police escort advised her to flee. Ester took his advice, and returned to Biardzka, who, despite the danger, welcomed her back. She arranged a hiding place for her in the loft of the pigsty, provided her with food, and looked after her devotedly and lovingly until August 1944, when the area was liberated. In risking her life to save Jewish refugees, Biardzka was guided by humanitarian motives, which overrode considerations of personal safety or economic hardship, and never expected anything in return. After the war, Ester Chandlarska immigrated to Israel where, for many years, she kept up a correspondence with her savior, Biardzka, whom she called “Mommy” (“mamusia”). She helped her financially, sent her parcels, and even visited her in Poland. On February 12, 1991, Yad Vashem recognized Antonina Helena Biardzka-Krysińska as Righteous Among the Nations. File No. 4700