Kosiorowska Maria ; Husband: Kosiorowski Józef

Kosiorowska, Maria Kosiorowski, Józef One night in April 1942, Rachela Messing, her daughter Gitla, and Shmul Rothbart, escaped from the massacre perpetrated by the Germans and Ukrainians against the Jews of Majdan Królewski, in the county of Kolbuszowa, in the Rzeszow district. Arriving in the village of Poreby Dymarskie, they knocked on the door of Józef and Maria Kosiorowski, asking if they could stay the night. Kosiorowska, whose husband had been taken away to a forced labor camp, hid them in the attic, and provided them with bread and milk. The following morning, she agreed to let them stay on in her house, which was situated on the edge of the forest, away from the other houses of the village. During the day, the three refugees helped Kosiorowska on the farm. At times of particular danger, they hid in the forest, and when the Germans combed the forest, they returned to the cottage. One night, policemen, alerted by informers, surrounded the Kosiorowskis’ farm. Kosiorowska’s quick thinking saved the day. At the sound of the barking dogs, Kosiorowska grabbed her baby from its crib and pinched it hard to make it scream. When the Germans entered the house, Kosiorowska told them that her screaming child had a contagious disease, and the Germans beat a hasty retreat, after first trying to bribe her with promises of large quantities of sugar, flour, and barley, into revealing houses where Jews were hiding. In due course, Józef, Maria’s husband, was sent home, and he too, helped look after Rothbart, Messing, and her daughter, until the area was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944. In risking their lives to save the Jewish refugees, the Kosiorowskis were guided by Christian love, and never expected anything in return. On July 27, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Maria and Józef Kosiorowski as Righteous Among the Nations.