Zwonarz Józef & Franciszka

ZWONARZ, JÓZEF ZWONARZ, FRANCISZKA When the war broke out, Józef and Franciszka Zwonarz were living in Lesko (Rzeszow district). Józef provided for the family from the meager profit that he earned from the workshop he ran. When rumors about the liquidation of the labor camp in nearby Zaslaw spread, Józef and Franciszka decided to hide their pre-war friends, Yaffa and Nathan Wolach. The hideout, constructed especially for them, was located beneath Józef’s workshop. A few days after their arrival, the Wolachs were joined by two of Nathan’s brothers-in-law and his sister-in-law. The five of them hid under Józef’s workshop for two years. Despite his difficult financial situation, Józef took care of all of his charges’ needs. One month before the liberation, a bomb fell on the workshop. It was impossible to continue hiding in the bunker, so Józef brought the five fugitives into his apartment. During the war, Józef also arranged a hiding place for the Wolachs’ daughter. He put her up with friends of his, Jan and Magda Kakol*. “After the liberation.... Józef gave us a gold watch and ten dollars and said: ‘Take this, it is all I have, but you have to start a new life,’” wrote Jaffa and Nathan Wolach in their testimony to Yad Vashem. After the war, the rescued Jews all left for Israel. On September 26, 1967, Yad Vashem recognized Józef Zwonarz and his wife, Franciszka, as Righteous Among the Nations.