Stachowiak Henryka (Łebas)

STACHOWIAK, HENRYKA During the war, Henryka Stachowiak was living in Trembowla, Tarnopol District, Eastern Galicia. Together with her brother, she took care of her parents and grandmother. In June 1943, Adolf Phillips found his way to Henryka’s home after escaping from the labor camp Kamionki near Tarnopol. Adolf was originally from Trembowla and he had been friendly with Henryka before the war. Upon his arrival at her home, Henryka immediately welcomed Adolf in, hid him in the hayloft, and brought him three meals a day. In January 1944, a forest inspector barged into Henryka’s house, followed by a drunk Nazi. Henryka, who was pregnant at the time, was petrified that the Nazi might discover Adolf and that her whole family would pay with their lives for harboring a fugitive. A few days later, due to the shock Henryka underwent, she gave birth to a dead baby. Adolf remained hidden with Henryka until the liberation. “I would never have survived the war without her help,” Adolf wrote in his testimony to Yad Vashem. “Mrs. Henryka Stachowiak treated me extremely well. She did it unselfishly.” Adolf later immigrated to the United States. On October 14, 1985, Yad Vashem recognized Henryka Stachowiak as Righteous Among the Nations. File 3234