Dębski Zygmunt

Dębski, Zygmunt After escaping from the Lwow ghetto and an abortive attempt to cross the border into Hungary, David Czaczkes-Akselbrad returned to his home town, where a Christian acquaintance directed him to the apartment of Zygmunt Dębski, a Home Army (AK) activist, and student at the local technical institute. Dębski offered David shelter in his home, obtained “Aryan” documents for him, and arranged for him to stay with friends when necessary. When Dębski found out that Czaczkes-Akselbrad’s family was being held in ghettos and camps in the towns of Jaworow and Grodek Jagiellonski, he himself traveled to these places, helped smuggle them out, and took them to a hiding place in Lwow. Soon Dębski and Czaczkes-Akselbrad became friends. It was not long before Czaczkes-Akselbrad joined the AK, and was entrusted with important and dangerous missions. Dębski exploited his position as an AK activist to help Jews in trouble. He provided food for a Jewish family in the Jaroslaw ghetto, and transferred Jewish refugees from Lwow to Boryslaw. He also found a shelter for the Jewish relatives of a woman who worked for the underground. For Dębski, saving Jews was inspired by national considerations, and was considered an integral part of the struggle against the German enemy. In July 1944, when the Red Army liberated Lwow, members of the NKVD arrested Czaczkes-Akselbrad and he was sentenced to prison for his AK activity. After Stalin’s death, Czaczkes-Akselbrad was released from jail, and immigrated to Israel, where he kept up contact with his friend Dębski. On July 27, 1988, Yad Vashem recognized Zygmunt Dębski as Righteous Among the Nations.