Szymańska Genowefa

SZYMAŃSKA, GENOWEFA Genowefa Szymańska lived in Lodz during the war. In the spring of 1940, Israel Goldblum, in whose factory Genowefa worked before the war, approached her and asked for help in moving his family from Lodz to Piotrkow Trybunalski because Israel wanted to avoid being forced into the newly created Lodz ghetto. It was impossible to receive an official permit to make this move, and the border had to be crossed illegally. In March 1940, Genowefa took Luba Goldblum (Israel’s wife), their son Henryk, and their daughter Irena across the border. Szymańska’s sister, Janina Nafort, took Goldblum’s mother as well as Dr. Cukier. She rented a summer resort in Włodzimierzow near Piotrkow. The Goldblum family settled there with Janina and her son and Genowefa’s son. In the spring of 1942, Genowefa settled in the village of Pruchensko. From there, she visited the Goldblums and advised them to leave Włodzimierzow, because she had heard that the Germans were planning on deporting all of the Jews from there, and to move to Prochensko. She took Irena back with her and promised to come back for Luba and Henryk. Unfortunately, she could not return in time and Irena’s family was deported to Treblinka, never to return. In the spring of 1943, the German police conducted a search in Genowefa’s apartment. Irena hid in a small hiding place behind a closet before the Germans could find her. After the incident, Genowefa moved with Irena to Warsaw where they managed to change apartments several times. After the Warsaw Uprising in late summer 1944, they managed to escape during the deportations to Pruszkow. They reached Grodzisko Mazowiecki, where Genowefa placed Irena at her friend’s home. Her friend was paid to keep Irena and had no idea that she was a Jew. From there, Irena awaited liberation and afterwards she went to Lodz, where she found her uncle. “Throughout the war Mrs. Szymańska treated me like a member of the family,” wrote Irena in her testimony to YadVashem. She added that Genowefa also helped her cousin, Halina Brill. She helped her to escape from the camp in Skarzysko Kamiena and offered her shelter. Halina, however, preferred to join her parents who were trapped in the Piotrkow ghetto. Genowefa helped her to get there. After some time, Halina managed to get out of the ghetto in Piotrkow Trybunalski and she was finally saved. Irena immigrated to Sweden, where she wrote about Genowefa Szymańska. She then moved on to Israel and fourteen years after that she moved to the United States. On November 3, 1992, Yad Vashem recognized Genowefa Szymańska as Righteous Among the Nations.