Kurc Michalina

Kurc Michalina Before the German occupation, during the period when her hometown was annexed by the Soviet Union, Michalina Kurc worked as a laboratory assistant in the only pharmacy in Dolina, in the Stanislawow district of Eastern Galicia. In 1941, when the town was occupied by the Germans, the owner of the pharmacy hired a Jewish doctor, Dr. Meir Probst, in the hope that his employment in an essential facility would protect him from the ordeals suffered by the Jewish population of the cit0y. However, late in July 1942, in an Aktion carried out by the Germans in the city, Dr. Probst was ordered to report to the market square along with all the other Jews of the town, who were then taken to the cemetery grounds and shot to death. But Kurc came to Dr. Probst’s rescue, took him to her apartment and arranged a hiding place for him under the floor of a room. Probst hid in Kurc's apartment for nearly two years, and without receiving any remuneration, Kurc gave him food and supplied all his other needs. Kurc acted out of compassion and out of friendship that withstood the test of those perilous times, despite the constant fear of betrayal or of an unexpected search in her home. Probst, forever grateful to Kurc for saving his life, was liberated in July 1944. After the war, Probst immigrated to Israel and Kurc moved to within the new borders of Poland. The ties of friendship formed between Probst and Kurc during the occupation, lasted for many years. On February 13, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Michalina Kurc as Righteous Among the Nations. File 1259