Semrad Ludwig & Wanda

Semrad, Ludwig Semrad, Wanda Ludwig Semrad, a resident of Vienna, was born in 1907 in Teschen (today Cieszyn in Poland). In June 1941 he became the manager of a tobacco and cigarette factory in Jagielnica, near Czortków in Eastern Galicia, that had been appropriated by the authorities. Ludwig and his wife Wanda, a Polish woman from Krakow, treated Jews well. When Ludwig became manager of the factory, he left the factory’s technical manager, Reuven Wolkowicz, in his position although he was a Jew. When the first Aktion took place in the summer of 1942, Wanda went to the city, found Wolkowicz’s wife Bella and saved her from expulsion by bringing her back to the factory. Afterwards, the couple decided to help more Jews in any way possible. They took in some 50 Jewish workers (including Wolkowicz’s wife and their three children) and employed them in various jobs for which there was no real need. They were housed under relatively good conditions, were allowed to eat meals in the factory restaurant, and were even paid for their labor. Gestapo agents came to the factory on a number of occasions, demanding that the Jews be removed so that they could be sent to labor camps. Ludwig Semrad claimed the Jewish workers were vital for factory production and refused to release them. He was put under a great deal of pressure to allow the transport of the Jews, but he steadfastly refused, and bribed some of the Gestapo agents in order to save the Jews. The couple also helped Poles wanted by the authorities, and Wanda cooperated with the Polish underground. In June 1944 the Gestapo began to persecute Ludwig Semrad because of his aid to Jews and Poles. This persecution caused him a great deal of material damage, and he suffered because of the repeated questioning about his activities. However, he continued to help Jews and Poles persecuted by the Nazis. The Semrads endangered themselves by helping Jews. They received no financial compensation for their activities, and in fact,spent a great deal of their own money in order to maintain dozens of Jews in the factory who made no real contribution to production. In addition, they suffered personally from the investigations and persecutions by the authorities. After the war the Semrads continued to live in Poland, and later moved to Fuschl in Salzburg, and then to Wien, where Ludwig Semrad became a bank director. The Wolkowicz family moved to Israel. On January 11, 1979, Yad Vashem recognized Ludwig and Wanda Semrad as Righteous Among the Nations.