Halamajowa Franciszka ; Daughter: Liniewska Helena (Halamajowa)

Halamajowa Franciszka Liniewska-Halamajowa Helena Immediately after the occupation of the town of Sokal, in the Lwow district, the Germans, with the help of the Ukrainians, launched pogroms against the local Jews. In a number of Aktionen many Jews were murdered, while many others were deported to Belzec extermination camp. In May 1943, during the liquidation of the local ghetto, 13 Jews – three men, five women, and five children – escaped from the ghetto. After wandering for days and nights, they reached a remote village, where they knocked on the door of Franciszka Halamajowa, who lived on a secluded farm with her daughter, Helena. Halamajowa recognized some of the refugees as former cattle dealers, who had shown themselves to be scrupulously honest and extremely generous. Without hesitation, she and her daughter arranged a hiding place for them in the loft of the pigsty, where they hid until the area was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944. Throughout, Halamajowa and her daughter looked after them devotedly, and never left their home, even when local Poles were fleeing the atrocities perpetrated by the local Ukrainians. Nor did they let themselves be intimidated by blackmailers who ordered them to leave under penalty of death. On the contrary, they believed that it was G-d who had brought the Jewish refugees to their door to test their faith. They considered it their religious duty to protect the Jewish refugees, and never demanded payment of any kind. Thanks to Halamajowa and her daughter, the following Jews were saved: David Kindler, his wife and their two children, Simcha and Eliahu; Moshe Malc, his wife, and their son; Shmuel Malc, his two sisters, and a daughter of one of the sisters; and David Kram, his wife, and son. After the war, one of the survivors immigrated to Israel, and the remainder to the United States, while Halamajowa and her daughter moved to an area within the borders of Poland . On March 29, 1984, Yad Vashem recognized FranciszkaHalamajowa and her daughter, Helena Liniewska-Halamajowa, as Righteous Among the Nations.