Komendarczyk Władysława (Wojtczak)

Komendarczyk, Wladyslawa Jaszczewski, Tadeusz In the autumn of 1942, Faiga Żabner escaped from Wlochy with her four-year-old son, Nachman, with the help of Tadeusz Jaszczewski, a stamp collector and dealer and, after numerous hardships, arrived in nearby Warsaw. After accompanying the fugitives to his office, Jaszczewski hid them in a small room where he stored stamps. The only other person let into the secret was Władysława Komendarczyk, a loyal clerk; his other employees never suspected a thing. Since the storeroom had neither toilet nor running water, Komendarczyk volunteered to care for their hygiene. After work, Komendarczyk brought Żabner and her son food, which she bought out of her own money, cleaned out their room, and removed their bodily waste. When it was no longer possible for Żabner and her son to hide in Jaszczewski’s office, Komendarczyk obtained “Aryan” papers for them, and continued to look after them, in their six subsequent hiding places. In risking her life for Żabner and her son, Komendarczyk was guided by a deep humanity and Christian love, and the friendship that had grown up between them. Jaszczewski, too, was guided by humanitarian motives and felt it was his duty to help Jewish refugees in their difficult hour. In August 1944, with the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, contact between Żabner and Komendarczyk was temporarily suspended when Komendarczyk was sent to work in Germany. After the war, their ties resumed, and the close friendship that had existed between them during the occupation continued for many more years. On August 11, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Komendarczyk Władysława and Tadeusz Jaszczewski as Righteous Among the Nations. File 5347