Halkow Teresa

Halkow, Teresa For many years, Teresa Halkow worked as a nanny for the Hutterers’ children who lived in Stryj in the Stanisławow district. In 1941, Halkow was forced to leave her employers when they were interned in the local ghetto. In the Aktion the Germans launched in Stryj, in June 1943, most members of the Hutterer family were murdered. However, before the Aktion, the mother had managed to smuggle her four-year-old boy, Eliezer, out of the ghetto to the Aryan side of the city, where Halkow, at great personal risk, agreed to look after him. At first Halkow sent Eliezer to her brother’s house, but when the danger of discovery intensified, she had no choice but to hide him in the cellar of the house where she lived. Eliezer remained hidden in the cellar, where Halkow watched over him, and lovingly saw to all his needs, until the Red Army liberated the city in August 1944. When the war ended, and Halkow discovered that Eliezer’s parents had perished, she sent Eliezer to Lodz to a Jewish organization, which had recently been established there. After a short stay in an orphanage, Eliezer immigrated to Israel where, for many years, he kept in touch with his rescuer. On March 22, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Teresa Halkow as Righteous Among the Nations.