Najbar Franciszek & Maria

Najbar, Franciszek Najbar, Maria Dr. Max Anderman was one of the few Jewish physicians in Buczacz, Eastern Galicia, who was allowed to practice medicine outside the ghetto after the German occupation began. This came about because of the intercession of Dr. Anderman’s Ukrainian friend, the district physician, Dr. Banach. In the course of 1942, as the danger facing the Jews in this city mounted, Banach arranged a special work permit for Anderman in Barysz, a large village near Buczacz, where he served a rural population of Ukrainians and Poles. Dr. Anderman, who moved to the village with his family, established friendly relations with priests in the area—especially the Polish Catholic priest Dziuban. When the Jewish community in Buczacz was liquidated, Dr. Anderman realized that his family would face the same bitter fate and, at Father Dziuban’s recommendation, turned to Franciszek Najbar and asked him to arrange shelter for himself, his wife, and their four-year-old son. After Franciszek consulted with his wife Maria, the Najbars, young peasants who owned a modest farmstead, agreed to accommodate the Jewish refugees in their loft. When Anderman asked how he could reward them, they answered that if the Germans discovered them they would share the same fate and that if they survived, they would discuss reward at an appropriate time. The Najbars took in the Andermans unconditionally and concealed them for ten months despite the danger. They met all their wards’ needs, and Maria, who had a young child of her own, provided the Andermans’ young son with the daily milk ration that he required. In the spring of 1944, the Red Army liberated Buczacz and the Andermans returned to their home. The Najbars sought no remuneration for their acts of rescue, which they carried out for reasons of virtue and humanitarianism. When Ukrainian nationalists torched the Najbars’ house after the war, the Andermans came to their rescuers’ assistance and accommodated them in their ownhome. Later, the two families—independently of each other—moved to Wroclaw (within Poland’s new borders), and when they met, Dr. Anderman helped the Najbars settle into their new place of residence. The two families lived in familial proximity until 1956 and stayed in touch even after the Andermans immigrated to Israel. After Franciszek died, the Andermans continued to supported Maria and her children. On December 23, 1987, Yad Vashem recognized Franciszek Najbar and his wife Maria as Righteous Among the Nations.