Kida Józef & Anastasia

Kida, Józef Kida, Anastasia Before the war, Józef and Anastasia Kida, poor farmers who lived in the village of Kepa Rudnicka, in the Tarnobrzeg district, sold their produce to Jews in the nearby town of Ulanow. In due course, they became friendly with the Gerstens, and the two families used to visit each other. In October 1942, during the liquidation of the Ulanow ghetto, the eight members of the Gersten family came to the Kidas who arranged a shelter for them in a barn. Despite raids and the antisemitic climate that surrounded them, Kida and his wife risked their lives and the lives of their eleven children to save the Gerstens. Guided by a true friendship, which triumphed over adversity, the Kidas looked after their eight charges until the Red Army liberated the area in July 1944. Even after the war, the Kidas’ neighbors could not forgive them for saving Jews during the occupation, and dubbed them “Jew-lovers” (Zydowskie wujki). All eight Gerstens survived and after the war immigrated to the United States, where they continued to correspond with their saviors and their saviors’ children. On March 19, 1986, Yad Vashem recognized Anastasia and Józef Kida as Righteous Among the Nations.