Tarnawski Wilhelm

TARNAWSKI, WILHELM Wilhelm (Wilek) Tarnawski lived with his Jewish wife in Kopyczynce in the district of Tarnopol in Eastern Galicia during the war. Between 1942 and 1944, he hid seventeen of his wife’s relatives in his home. These included: Józef and Sara Fried and their two children, Chaim Leib and Helena Kleiner and their child, Eleazar and Mina Fried and their child, as well as Bronia Rozenblatt, Shlomo Fried, and Yakov Preminger. The Taranawskis occupied the ground floor apartment but the relatives were hidden in the attic and in a bunker in the cellar. One of the peculiarities of the house was the lack of any stairs; passage from one floor to another required a ladder. From time to time, Wilhelm’s wife had to join her hiding relatives despite her non-Jewish appearance. In 1957, Wilhelm immigrated with his wife to Israel. “My husband is a modest man, capable of making sacrifices for the good of other people, regardless of their beliefs or origins,” emphasized Mrs. Tarnawski in her testimony to Yad Vashem. After the war, her surviving relatives emigrated from Poland, some going to the United States and others to Israel. On June 29, 1978, Yad Vashem recognized Wilhelm Tarnawski as Righteous Among the Nations.