Niewirkiewicz Denisi

Niewierkiewicz, Denisi After the Germans overran Vilna in 1941, 16-year-old Miriam Szor, together with her parents and younger brother, were imprisoned in the local ghetto. While still in the ghetto, Miriam’s father contacted Denisi Niewierkiewicz, a Polish friend and engineer. When Niewierkiewicz discovered the dire situation of his Jewish friend’s family, he smuggled food into the sealed-off ghetto for them, and offered them shelter in his home, promising to care for them. The attempt by the family to flee from the ghetto failed and the four members of the Szor family were deported to the nearby Kailis camp. Miriam’s father, mother and brother were transported from the camp to their deaths, but Miriam managed to escape and find her way to the home of her father’s friend, Denisi Niewierkiewicz. Faithful to his promise, Niewierkiewicz received the young fugitive in his home. He took her under his wing and treated her like a daughter, taking care of all her needs. The German and Lithuanian police raided the Niewierkiewicz home a number of times but Denisi defied them and risked his life to safeguard the life of his young charge, who remained in the hiding place in his apartment until the Red Army liberated the area in July 1944. Niewierkiewicz saved young Miriam’s life without asking for or receiving anything in return, and his actions were motivated by altruism. After the war, Miriam Szor immigrated to Israel and in 1955, Niewierkiewicz passed away in Vilna. On December 21, 1999, Yad Vashem recognized Denisi Niewierkiewicz as a Righteous Among the Nations.