Dębnicki Kazimierz

Dębnicki, Kazimierz With the establishment of the Warsaw ghetto, Halina Nawrocka, who was hiding on the “Aryan side” of the city, and her friend, Kazimierz Dębnicki, decided to get married for reasons of expediency, and moved to Suchedniow, in the Kielce district. These precautions notwithstanding, Nawrocka was arrested, but was released after Debicki courageously testified that “his wife” was a devout Catholic. Dębnicki also saved Esfira Dębnicka, his Jewish stepmother, who had also been arrested, following a tip-off to the Gestapo. Although Dębnicka slipped up on questions of Catholic customs, her stepson managed to persuade the police that she was a member of the Orthodox church. Throughout the occupation, Dębnicki was active in the Socialist underground, and helped publish its mouthpiece, Za Nasza i Wasza Wolnosc. Dębnicki, who saw his effort as part of the war against a common enemy, helped Jews in a variety of ways, including supplying them with forged documents. After the war, Dębnicki separated from his “wife,” who moved to Peru. For many years, the two remained good friends and kept up a regular correspondence. On July 15, 1981, Yad Vashem recognized Kazimierz Dębnicki as Righteous Among the Nations.