Dudek Anna

Dudek, Anna In early 1943, after escaping with her baby daughter from the Bialystok ghetto, Helena Sokolska made her way to the home of her former maid, Anna Dudek, who lived in a large apartment house in the center of Warsaw. Despite the danger, Dudek immediately took them into her small apartment and, a few months later, obtained “Aryan” documents for Sokolska and her daughter, which enabled Sokolska to register for work in Germany. Meanwhile, Sokolska found work as a maid for a German family, who let her bring her daughter with her. In risking her life for Sokolska, Dudek was guided by loyalty and compassion toward her former employer. In November 1943, Dudek found a hiding place for Helena’s husband, Aron Sokolski, who had found his way to Warsaw, looked after him and saw to all his needs without expecting anything in return. After the authorities were alerted by an informer, Dudek was arrested and sent to Ravensbrueck concentration camp, where she perished. The three Sokolskis survived, and after the war immigrated to Australia. On October 25, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Anna Dudek as Righteous Among the Nations.