Iwaniuk Andrzej & Zinowia (Wesołowska)

Iwaniuk, Andrzej Iwaniuk, Zinowia At the outbreak of war, Lejba Wacht, an inhabitant of the town of Narew in the county of Hajnówka, in the Białystok district, was a petty businessman who traded in the nearby villages. In the course of his business dealings, he got to know Andrzej Iwaniuk and his wife, Zinowia, a peasant couple from the nearby village of Gradoczno. In 1941, when the Jews of Narew were interned in the ghetto, the Iwaniuks provided Wacht with food and clothes, at great personal risk. In November 1942, shortly before the liquidation of the Narew ghetto, the Iwaniuks, prompted by a true friendship that triumphed over adversity, hid Wacht in a farm building where, despite their straitened circumstances and the neighbors’ hostility, they looked after him devotedly. Wacht stayed with the Iwaniuks until the area was liberated by the Red Army in 1944. After the war, Wacht immigrated to Israel, where he corresponded with his saviors until they passed away. On March 15, 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Zinowia and Andrzej Iwaniuk as Righteous Among the Nations. File 7052