Szymczak Zdzisław ; Brother: Józef

Szymczak, Zdzisław Szymczak, Józef Zdzisław Szymczak and his wife, Jadwiga, lived in Warsaw during the war. In 1941, he began helping Jews. His brother, Józef, also actively assisted him in this endeavor. One of the many Jews who received help from the Szymczak brothers was Mieczysław Karol Dubiński, a schoolmate of Zdzisław's from the Warsaw Polytechnic. They were also both involved in the Socialist Student Union group known as "Life" (OMS "Życie"). They had met again at the turn of 1941, when Zdzisław helped Dubiński find a hiding place in Piaseczno (near Warsaw) for a few days. At the same time, Jehuda Leibel (later Roman Malinowski) - who was also a prewar schoolmate from the Polytechnic – approached Zdzisław. In November 1942, the Szymczak brothers arranged the escape of Maria Malinowski from Tarnow ghetto. Maria (Rachel Markus) was Roman’s wife. The brothers brought her to Warsaw and helped her to establish herself on the Aryan side. Zdzisław also hid Beniamin Leibel (Roman’s father) in his apartment for one week. He eventually found a hiding place for Roman’s father-in-law, Moshe Markus, as well. In December 1942, the Szymczak brothers helped Rachel’s sister, Felicia Markus (Izabelle Minz), escape from the Tarnow ghetto. They took her to Warsaw and put her up for a few days in their mother’s apartment. They also arranged an “Aryan” paper for her and helped her find an apartment. They also arranged Aryan papers for her and helped her find an apartment. Zdzisław also helped Roman’s sister, Lili Rozenblum, flee the ghetto. In July 1943, the teenager David Plonski escaped from the ghetto through the sewage system. He tried to contact the Polish underground to arrange for the escape of the handful of fighters who had remained alive in the destroyed ghetto. The Szymczak brothers came to his aid and provided him with food and arms. They also helped him return to the ghetto through a manhole and then, for three nights, waited for him and his group of comrades to leave the ghetto. They kept in contact with the fighters after finding hiding places for all. In 1944, following the end of the Warsaw Uprising, Zdzisław helped Roman to relocate his family. In 1988, Szymczak Zdzisław visited Israel at the invitation of some of those he had saved; among them was David Płonski (a social activist I Israel) of Kibbutz Megiddo. On January 9, 1979, Yad Vashem recognized Zdzisław Szymczak and his brother, Józef Szymczak, as Righteous Among the Nations. File 1516