Kowalczyk Jan & Józefa ; Daughter: Piątek Stanisława (Kowalczyk); Daughter: Przybyłowicz Kazimiera (Kowalczyk); Daughter: Banasik Marianna (Kowalczyk)

Kowalczyk, Jan Kowalczyk, Józefa During the occupation, Jan and Józefa Kowalczyk, a poor peasant couple who lived in the village of Rozlaki, in the county of Łuków, in the Lublin district, sheltered nine Jewish acquaintances of theirs from the nearby town of Huta Dąbrowa. They were: Awraham and Sonia Hurman, Chajim and Pola Kobialkiewicz, Sara Motkowa and her children Cwzja and Szulim, Chana Dub and Israel Augman, Some of the refugees arrived at the Kowalczyks after the liquidation of the Łuków ghetto in 1943, while others arrived in January 1944, after escaping from the Dęblin labor camp. Although the Kowalczyks themselves had eight children, they took in all nine refugees, and prepared two underground hiding places for them under farm buildings. Despite their straitened circumstances, the Kowalczyks helped them and looked after them, without expecting anything in return. At the time, the German defeat was imminent, and members of the Gestapo were in the habit of raiding farms searching for Jews. Despite the danger, the Kowalczyks, guided by true compassion, looked after the refugees’ safety, and made sure their little children kept their presence secret. In the spring of 1944, the refugees decided to move to the nearby forests. Even then, the Kowalczyks continued to supply them with food and clothes until July 1944, when the area was liberated by the Red Army. After the war, most of the nine refugees immigrated to Israel where they later testified that the Kowalczyks had saved their lives during the occupation. On March 4, 1987, Yad Vashem recognized Józefa and Jan Kowalczyk as Righteous Among the Nations.