Dyrdał Maria

Dyrdał-Kiełbasa, Maria When Eleonora Lindenberg, who was born in the Lwow ghetto in October 1941, was a few months old, her mother smuggled her out of the ghetto and took her to the town of Bochnia, where she handed her over to a Polish family, who agreed to look after her for a monthly fee. Meanwhile, the mother found shelter in the neighborhood under an assumed identity, but after being reported to the authorities, was caught and executed. Deprived of their monthly income, the foster parents wished to be rid of the child. Maria Dyrdał-Kiełbasa, a childless Polish woman, rescued Eleonora by agreeing to adopt her, even though the foster parents demanded a large fee. Fearing her suspicious neighbors, Dyrdał-Kiełbasa left the town and began wandering from village to village, with the baby in a pram, earning a living by selling knick-knacks and smuggling food. During her nomadic existence, which lasted until the liberation in the summer of 1944, Dyrdał-Kiełbasa was frequently exposed to danger. Stoically withstanding the threats of blackmailers and informers, Dyrdal-Kielbasa looked after little Eleonora with true motherly devotion. In risking her life for her adopted child, Dyrdał-Kiełbasa, a devout Catholic, was guided by moral and religious motives. After the war, she informed Eleonora she was Jewish, despite the pain this caused her, and handed her over to Jewish institutions, which arranged for her to immigrate to Israel. Even though they were in different countries, Dyrdał-Kiełbasa kept up close ties with Eleonora (later Elisheva Patt) who continued calling her “mommy,” and in 1958, spent eight months with her adopted daughter in Israel. On October 18, 1966, Yad Vashem recognized Maria Dyrdał-Kiełbasa as Righteous Among the Nations.