Niedzielska Waleria

Niedzielska, Waleria Moshe and Stefania Westrajch and their sons Henryk and Norbert hid in Waleria Niedzielska’s tiny apartment in Krakow from June 1942 on. From time to time, their daughter Berta would come to visit her family in their hideout; she had a Hungarian passport and was consequently able to live in the city under an assumed name. Niedzielska, who knew the Westrajch family from before the war, hid them without asking for or receiving anything at all in return, motivated by their past friendship. Niedzielska’s husband, a former officer in the Polish army, was forced to remain in hiding outside their home, and during the stay of the Westrajch family, there was considerable tension and anxiety. Once, when a search was conducted for Polish underground activists, the searchers entered Niedzielska’s apartment. The two Westrajch boys hid under a bed but the father, who was hiding in a closet, was discovered and never heard from again. Owing to these circumstances, Stefania decided, in June 1943, to leave the hideout with her two sons, and all three fled with Berta to Hungary, where they remained under assumed identities until the liberation of the area by the Red Army. After the war, they immigrated to Israel. On November 17, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Waleria Niedzielska as Righteous Among the Nations.