Duszczak Maria & Dymitr

Duszczak, Dymitr Duszczak, Maria In April 1943, Abram and Maria Einleger fled the massacre perpetrated by the Germans against the Jews of Trembowla, in eastern Galicia, and made their way to the isolated cottage of Dymitr and Maria Duszczak, a poor peasant couple, who agreed to shelter them. About two months later, when a new massacre was launched against the remnants of the Jews of Trembowla, the Einlegers were joined by Josef, their son, who had managed to escape with his wife, Augustina. In September of that year, Fryderyk, their other son, who had had to leave his former hiding place, joined them. Despite being surrounded by hostile Ukrainian neighbors, the Duszczaks extended their patronage to the five members of the Einleger family, and prepared two hiding places for them, one in their farmyard stable, and the other in a gully in the forest which surrounded the cottage. Although the refugees helped pay their way, the main burden of their upkeep fell on the Duszczaks’ shoulders. In risking their lives to save the Einlegers, the Duszczaks were guided by humanitarian motives, which overrode considerations of personal safety. The five refugees stayed with the Duszczaks until the area was liberated by the Red Army in March 1944. When they left, the Duszczaks asked them to leave at night to escape the attention of their vindictive neighbors. After the war, the survivors immigrated to Israel, where they kept up contact with their rescuers who had moved to an area within the new Polish borders. On September 11, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Dymitr Duszczak, and his wife, Maria Duszczak, as Righteous Among the Nations. File 3479