Plauszewski Feliks & Plauszewska Stefania

Plauszewski, Feliks Plauszewska, Stefania Gos, Edward Gos, Stefania In September 1942, Lea Wicner’s mother shoved the twelve-year-old out of the railroad car that was transporting the Jews of Hnizdyczów-Kochawina (Lwow district) to the Belzec extermination camp. Wicner returned to her village, where she joined up with an uncle who had also escaped from the transport. With his assistance, she obtained “Aryan” papers with which she was able to reach Stary Sambor, where she went to the home of Feliks and Stefania Plauszewski, who were acquainted with her family. The Plauszewskis accepted Wicner like a member of the family, took care of her, and disclosed her Jewish origin to no one, including their children. In early 1943, the Polish inhabitants of Stary Sambor were expelled to the west. The Plauszewskis, together with Wicner, reached Tarnobrzeg (on the Vistula River), but since Poles from Wicner’s village had also been expelled to this area, it was feared that her identity would be revealed. Thus, the Plauszewskis decided to move Wicner to the home of Stefania Gos, Feliks’s sister, in Sobieska Wola (Lublin district). Gos and her husband Edward, like the Plauszewskis, treated Wicner as affectionately and devotedly as a daughter until the area was liberated in July 1944. The two Polish families risked their lives to rescue Wicner purely for humanitarian motives, without remuneration. After the war, Lea Wicner moved to Israel and stayed in touch with her rescuers’ children. On June 27, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Feliks Plauszewski, his wife, Stefania Plauszewska, Edward Gos, and his wife, Stefania Gos, as Righteous Among the Nations.